CMA calls for Chief Accountability Officer

OTTAWA – The Canadian Medical Association has released a new report to compare the bilateral health funding agreements signed between the provinces/territories and the federal government. Prepared by Deloitte, the analysis dives deeper on the best approach to ensure the new funds are strategically managed to benefit all Canadians. Given the complexities of each agreement, the report concludes there must be a greater commitment to tracking improvements to healthcare delivery and patient outcomes in Canada.

Due to the significant resources required to monitor impact across all the provinces and territories, the CMA is calling for the creation of a national Chief Health Accountability Officer. The role’s sole objective would be to track progress nationwide and report on the efficiency of healthcare spending toward creating greater access to timely care for all Canadians.

“There is no doubt that enhanced accountability is crucial to successfully implementing durable changes in our healthcare system. We firmly believe that collaboration between provinces and territories is a key component of achieving long-term changes. Creating a Chief Health Accountability Officer reflects the importance of working across jurisdictions to improve transparency and expedite change,” said Dr. Joss Reimer (pictured), president, CMA.

The CMA applauds the completion of the agreements, the creation of targets and the collaboration on shared health priorities, such as:

• Expanding access to family health services, including in rural and remote areas,
• Supporting health workers and reducing backlogs for health services, such as surgeries and diagnostics,
• Improving access to quality mental health, substance use and addictions services,
• Modernizing the healthcare system with standardized information and digital tools so healthcare providers and patients have access to electronic health information.

However, the report highlights several key gaps in the targets created through these agreements. For example, no province or territory has set targets aimed at eliminating closures of emergency rooms, and almost every jurisdiction has set less ambitious targets for modernizing the healthcare system than what was recommended by the CMA.

The analysis mentions that:

• Five provinces/territories do not have targets for electronic access to health data while seven do not have targets for information sharing.
• Most of the provinces/territories (9 out of 12) have established targets to expand access to family health services.
• No region in Canada is aligned with the CMA’s medium-term objective of bringing down unmet mental healthcare needs to 25% for those with a mental health disorder by 2028.
• While the federal government is introducing accountability mechanisms to monitor funds administered to the provinces and territories, there is also a greater need for accountability over federal healthcare announcements.

The CMA urges all levels of governments to embrace proven solutions to ensure this historic-level funding truly transforms our health system. To this day, more than 6.5 million Canadians do not have access to a primary care physician, surgical backlogs remain substantial, and the human health resource shortage is overwhelming.

The CMA continues to offer its full support to all levels of government in advancing efforts to rebuild the healthcare system.

The full Deloitte report can be found here.

About the CMA
The Canadian Medical Association leads a national movement with physicians who believe in a better future of health. Our ambition is a sustainable, accessible health system where patients are partners, a culture of medicine that elevates equity, diversity and wellbeing, and supportive communities where everyone has the chance to be healthy. We drive change through advocacy, giving and knowledge sharing – guided by values of collaboration and inclusion.