Canada’s provinces have agreed to facilitate the sharing of health information as a condition of receiving more federal transfers, a commitment that has potential benefits but which also raises concerns.
On Feb. 13, the provinces agreed to $196 billion in transfers from the federal government, of which $46 billion would be new money. To access the funds, Ottawa requires provinces and territories to “commit to improving how health information is collected, shared, used, and reported … to promote greater transparency on results, and to help manage public health emergencies,” according to a statement issued by the prime minister on Feb. 7.
University of New Brunswick political science professor Herb Emery, a former program director of health policy at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, says that a greater role for federal health care, including sharing more data, won’t bring the change the health system needs….