Province Supporting 15 Innovative Projects to Improve Patient Care at Home and in the Community.
Ontario is improving patient care through cutting-edge health technology by committing to provide grants for 15 new projects that will improve people's care at home and in their communities.
Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, was at the Impact Health Summit today to announce the new technologies that will be receiving support from the province.
Projects include:
- A new mobile device to help patients who have undergone cardiac and vascular surgery receive continuous vital sign monitoring in the hospital and at home, to prevent serious post-surgery complications and readmission to hospital
- New software to provide breast cancer patients with easy-to-access information about upcoming tests, appointments and treatment recommendations, while connecting family doctors with specialists for follow-up care
- New software to provide self-care tools to youth with mental health challenges, including a platform to support education, collaboration, engagement, intervention and goal-focused coaching.
- The grants are part of Ontario's Health Technologies Fund (HTF), which supports the development of Ontario-based health technologies that improve care for people, bring value to the health care system and create jobs.
Investing in innovative health technologies that help patients receive care closer to home is part of the government's plan to build a better Ontario through its Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care, which provides patients with faster access to the right care, better home and community care, the information they need to live healthy, and a health care system that is sustainable for generations to come.
"The Health Technologies Fund is already having an impact in the health system because of the collaborations it has created between health service providers, health technology innovators and patients. We are finding new ways to solve our greatest challenges by harnessing the power of innovation to provide better care while creating jobs in Ontario."
— William Charnetski, Chief Health Innovation Strategist for Ontario
QUICK FACTS
- Fifteen grants were awarded ranging from $95,000 to $500,000 each, totalling $5.4 million.
- The $20-million Health Technologies Fund is administered by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and the Office of the Chief Health Innovation Strategist (OCHIS).
- Minister Hoskins also announced the first three Innovation Brokers who will accelerate the work of the OCHIS by connecting health technology companies, health care providers, patients, and other key stakeholders to advance health technology innovations into practice.
- Each Health Innovation Team includes at least one provider of publicly funded health care services and at least one technology company with an R&D or manufacturing presence in Ontario.
- The next call for applications for the Health Technologies Fund will be announced in spring 2017.
