Health Policy Council
For Ontario to thrive, we need to ensure we have healthy workers, communities and workplaces. As many businesses witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a direct connection between a strong health care system and a robust economy. Government investment in preventive health care is an important cost-effective measure for the long-term. Beyond supporting a healthy, productive workforce, a strong, efficient health care system ensures a robust economy, including through job creation, effective delivery of services, improved population health, and research and innovation.
Working with government and health providers, the private sector plays a key role in supporting a stronger and more resilient public health system by supporting innovation in drug discovery and medical devices, supporting cost-effective government procurement, and leveraging data to ensure our health system operates efficiently.
Launched on April 7, 2020, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Health Policy Council brings together experts from industry, health practitioners, insurers and academia to provide timely recommendations to governments related to health care system modernization, innovation, and resilience in Ontario. Now more than ever, Ontario’s success depends on working together to ensure care system modernization, innovation, and resilience in Ontario.
Recent Highlights:
- Ontario Budget Submission and Federal Budget Submission
- Ontario’s aging population and Alzheimer’s and dementia care
- Op-ed on Ontario life sciences strategy
- Submission to the Competition Bureau on digital health and virtual care
- COVID-19 therapeutics
- Health human resources and staffing shortages
Publications:
- Principles for an Effective Pharmacare Program
- Power of the Purchase Order: Modernizing Public Sector Procurement in Ontario
- Realizing the Full Potential of Virtual Care in Ontario.
- Mental Wellness in the Workplace: A Playbook for Employers and A Playbook for SMEs.
- Blueprint to Bolster Ontario’s Prosperity.
2024 Policy & Advocacy Priorities:
- Robust Health Systems: A thriving economy depends on timely and equitable access to health care. For Ontario to address backlogs, reduce wait times and guarantee access to primary care, we must invest in health care professionals, training and programs to support a resilient health care system. We must also ensure government programs are best targeted to leverage existing strengths of the current system while improving patient access to care.
- Improving Health Infrastructure: To ensure Ontario best delivers for patients, we must make necessary investments in hospitals, long-term care and primary care to facilitate reliable and robust health systems across the province. This includes improving health data and leveraging digital innovation to improve health systems.
- Supporting Life Sciences: As a global leader in medical research, discovery and clinical trials, Ontario has enormous opportunity. To seize its advantage in life sciences, we must facilitate policies and collaboration between government, researchers, investors and the private sector to support a robust life sciences pipeline that commercializes discoveries in the provinces, making approvals faster and ensuring Ontario patients have access to new life-saving medical innovations.
- Promoting Innovation: We support exploring innovative models in the delivery of primary medicine, dental care and virtual care that reinforce health system and expand access to care to more patients. To do so, we must work with current health practitioners to ensure programs are designed to suit needs of Ontarians.
Founding members of the Council include:
- 19 to Zero
- Abbott Laboratories
- AbbVie
- Alzheimer Society of Ontario
- Amgen
- AstraZeneca
- BD
- Biogen
- BioMarin
- Canada Health Infoway
- Dynacare
- Eisai
- Eli Lilly
- Goodlife Fitness
- Green Shield Canada
- GSK
- Hologic
- Innovative Medicines Canada
- Ingersoll Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic
- Janssen/J&J
- Johnston Group
- Lavictoire Consulting Inc.
- LifeLabs
- Medavie
- Medtronic
- Merck
- MyHealth Centre
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.
- Novo Nordisk
- Ontario Genomics
- Ontario Dental Association
- Ontario Medical Association
- Ontario Physiotherapy Association
- Pfizer Canada
- Roche
- Staffy
- Sun Life
- Trudell Medical
- York University
Click here to learn more about the OCC’s ongoing advocacy work.
Click here to learn more about the OCC’s COVID-19 related advocacy.
For more information on how to join the Council, please contact, Simranzeet Singh, Senior Manager, Policy