Four virtual sessions will explore how to rebuild health care and the health workforce, and rethink health as an economic investment
Canada’s health care system was in a precarious state before being ravaged by the years-long COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the system is in crisis, under-resourced and overburdened, with health care workers exhausted and patients awaiting delayed surgeries and procedures. Bold changes are needed to create a stable, sustainable health system for the future.
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is hosting its virtual Health Summit Series this spring to kickstart conversations on how to do health care differently post-COVID.
“For decades, we’ve employed band-aid solutions to hold the health system together. The pandemic has pushed it to collapse and it’s no longer sustainable,” says CMA President Dr. Katharine Smart.
“It’s time for critical conversations on how to reboot the system. The 2022 CMA Health Summit Series will bring together diverse voices to discuss innovative solutions to rebuild the health workforce and provide timely care to patients.”
Dr. Smart will moderate the first session — Harnessing our collective will to rebuild health care — on Tues., Mar. 29 from 8 to 9 pm ET. Registration is now open.
At this Twitter Spaces event, family physician Dr. Tara Kiran and general surgeon Dr. David Urbach will introduce strategies for reforming primary care and clearing Canada’s surgical backlog. Dr. Nel Wieman, president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, will share new models of care from BC. And health care activist Sue Robins will speak to the critical need to involve patients in decision-making.
Members of the media and the public are welcome to attend.
In May, two other Health Summit sessions — one in English in partnership with The Globe and Mail and one in French in collaboration with l’Université de Montréal — will focus on how to create a health system that is an engine for economic growth.
In early June, the final event will explore how to rebuild the health workforce, including recruiting, training and retaining future health care workers.