December 13, 2024
Hi everyone,
We are excited to share some important updates on our strategic direction following the successful completion of the first phase of our health system transformation.
Over the past six months, we have worked closely together to build foundational capacity and drive meaningful system change. This accomplishment reflects our collective efforts and dedication in building the foundation and organizational strength needed for system transformation.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) sets the standard for health care excellence. By aligning with CIHI’s best practices, we will exceed expectations and create a more efficient, innovative health care system for all Islanders. We know we need to do these things differently and implement best practices learned in other jurisdictions to achieve the needed results.
Our partners in the Transformation Office will continue to support our work and provide assistance across workstreams. This collaboration has been instrumental in our progress so far, and we look forward to the insights and expertise they will bring to our future endeavors.
As we transition into Phase 2, we are introducing a new framework which will guide our efforts as we focus on three key transformation priorities:
- Ensuring every Islander has access to primary care: We aim to enhance primary care access by reducing the number of unaffiliated patients while recruiting more primary care providers and supporting roles to strengthen patient care continuity.
- Improving access and flow to acute care services: Our goal is to improve acute care services access and flow by reducing emergency department wait times, increase the percentage of patients treated within national benchmarks for surgeries, and decrease average wait times for diagnostic imaging.
- Building the foundation for accountability and excellence at Health PEI: We will establish accountability and excellence by developing a robust medical leadership model and cultivating a culture that emphasizes professional accountability and operational excellence.
The Transformation Office (TO) has launched new workstreams which include: Patient Access and Flow Optimization, Diagnostic Imaging Backlog, Surgical Backlog, Medical Leadership Model, and Operational Excellence. Building on the foundation from phase one, this next phase addresses the key health care challenges to create a more resilient and efficient system.
The TO will also continue our relentless focus on affiliating patients with primary care. We are making great strides in this area, and more are needed. Our patient medical homes are growing by serving more than 70,000 people in 2024. Our new patient registry, with detailed metrics to help drive data-based decisions, will launch in early 2025. Now our task is to affiliate as many patients as possible as soon as possible, with a goal of eliminating the patient waitlist for primary care by 2027.
By concentrating our efforts in these areas, we can continue to make tangible progress toward creating a more resilient, efficient, and innovative health care system across the province. Thank you for your continued support as we embark on this next phase of transformation.
To learn more about our progress across each of the transformation priorities over the past six months, please see the Phase 1 Report on the SRC page.
Please join me in celebrating all the progress and capacity building to date! Together, we will drive this critical transformation forward.
If you have any questions, please contact healthpei@gov.pe.ca.
Mel