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Innovation follows a path. It begins with energy, energy informs ideas, ideas feed innovation, innovation sparks human progress.
Innovations in health care drive quality and cost benefits that enhance client experiences, ensuring everyone receives the best care possible.
This was the topic of conversation on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin on June 16. The televised program was part of a series titled “Bending the Healthcare Cost Curve.”
Panelist and Saint Elizabeth Health Care (SEHC) President and CEO Shirlee Sharkey discussed how SEHC is transforming home and community care by giving clients access to care and health information no matter where they are.
“Location is irrelevant,” said Sharkey. “We offer care by going into people’s home, and through online and virtual mediums. With increased client interactions, we are able to follow the client through the entire episode of care.”
“Imagine changing the starting point from the acute hospital to the community, keeping people at home and supporting them to be independent,” Sharkey added. “You can impact cost because you are keeping individuals out of the system. Moreover, remaining in their homes is where people want to be.”
Sharkey was joined by four health care professionals who offered their own respective experiences and views on cost-reducing innovations occurring in health care.
“The innovations currently happening within the system are important,” Sharkey explained. “They support the value proposition that best outcomes breed greater value for every dollar spent on health care. We’ve seen it in wound care where applying best practice is cutting costs by 65 per cent.”
“And we can’t forget that innovation must also include the public. People are more knowledgeable and we need to consider how to involve them in their care in new ways.”
