Digital Health Week November 14th – 20th: How COVID-19 has transformed Health Care in Canada

Newswise — In March 2022, 49% of Canadians reported that they were offered virtual health care options¹. While the entire healthcare system was forced to adapt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual health care measures have continued to grow across Canada’s entire health care system.

For Digital Health Week on November 14^th to 20^th, two CIHR-funded researchers are available to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the Canadian healthcare system to become more accessible, as well as the benefits and disadvantages that have been seen because of this transformation:

• Rick Glazier, Scientific Director of CIHR’s Institute of Health Services and Policy Research can speak on his work in evaluating health system transformation, primary care service delivery models, and improving equity in healthcare.

• Onil Bhattacharyya can discuss how the evolution of virtual visits and digital tools have broken down the barriers to accessing primary care services as well as complex medical, social, and psychological needs, and the importance of optimizing these practices.

• Gillian Strudwickwas the recipient of the 2021 Rising Star Early Career Award in Health Services and Policy Research and can speak on her research into how health information technologies can be effectively utilized to benefit both patients and health professionals.

• Carolyn Steele Gray can speak about eHealth, and how technology can be leveraged to enable the implementation of innovative models of care to support health system transformation.