Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement

Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
Name	Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
Formation	1996
Type	Non-profit organization
Purpose	Health system improvement
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Region served	Canada
Leader title	President and CEO

Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement is a Canadian health policy and quality improvement organization focused on advancing health system performance through evidence-informed innovation, leadership development, and system-level change. It engages with provincial and territorial Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, and other national institutions to support policy translation, implementation science, and cross-jurisdictional learning. The organization works with leaders from Ontario Health, Alberta Health Services, British Columbia Ministry of Health, and similar bodies to accelerate adoption of best practices across Canadian provinces and territories.

History

Founded in 1996 during a period of reform in Canadian health systems, the organization emerged amid discussions involving Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal, and provincial restructuring efforts such as the formation of Alberta Health Services. Early activities aligned with initiatives by Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation to strengthen evidence translation. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s it collaborated with federal actors including Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada and engaged with academic partners like the University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia, and McMaster University to promote implementation science and quality improvement. Major milestones included national improvement campaigns that paralleled efforts by Canadian Patient Safety Institute and international comparisons with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development health indicators.

Mandate and Objectives

The foundation's mandate emphasizes accelerating measurable improvement in Canadian health systems by supporting leadership, spreading innovations, and fostering evidence-informed decision-making. Objectives map onto priorities set by jurisdictions such as Province of Ontario, Province of Quebec, Province of Nova Scotia, and Territory of Nunavut and reflect alignment with pan-Canadian strategies including the Canada Health Act principles and population health aims championed by institutions like CIHR and the Canadian Medical Association. Core aims include reducing unwarranted variation, improving access and wait times as seen in comparisons with NHS England and Veterans Health Administration, and enhancing patient experience drawing on frameworks developed by Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Canadian Patient Safety Institute.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs span leadership development, spread and scale initiatives, and evaluations of complex interventions. Leadership programming has drawn participation from executives at Saskatchewan Health Authority, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Manitoba Health, and academic health science centres such as Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Vancouver General Hospital. Spread initiatives have propagated models originating from pilot sites like St. Michael's Hospital and The Ottawa Hospital to other settings, using methodologies related to Lean and Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles associated with Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The foundation has supported targeted projects on primary care innovations intersecting with organizations such as Canadian Primary Care Physicians Association and specialty efforts involving Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Canadian Mental Health Association affiliates.

Governance and Funding

Governance is typically overseen by a board that has included leaders from provincial ministries, academic health science networks, and health professional bodies such as the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Funding sources have combined federal contributions linked to Health Canada and ad hoc agreements with provincial ministries including Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services and philanthropic support from foundations comparable to The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and corporate partners engaged with procurement in health technology assessments such as Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. Financial oversight aligns with standards used by nonprofit organizations such as Imagine Canada.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Collaborative relationships span government agencies, academic centres, health authorities, and advocacy groups. The foundation has worked alongside research funders like Canadian Institutes of Health Research and evaluative partners such as Canadian Institute for Health Information to measure system performance. It has engaged professional associations including the Canadian Nurses Association, Canadian Medical Association, and Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and partnered with international bodies like the World Health Organization and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for comparative studies. Multi-stakeholder collaboratives have linked patients and families through networks akin to Patients Canada and community organizations found in provinces such as British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Impact and Evaluation

Impact assessments have used indicators similar to those reported by Canadian Institute for Health Information and academic evaluations published through journals affiliated with Canadian Medical Association Journal and institutions like Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Reported outcomes include reduced wait times in selected pathways, improved chronic disease management in primary care aligned with metrics from Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and enhanced leadership capacity measured by follow-up studies involving participants from Health Authorities across provinces. Evaluations have employed methods common to implementation science and health services research, with peer-reviewed syntheses by researchers at McMaster University, University of Ottawa, and University of Calgary informing iterative program refinements.

Category:Health care in Canada Category:Non-profit organizations based in Ottawa