Patients, Families & Caregivers

The more Canadians are empowered, the more connected and collaborative they’ll be.

Centring the Patient Voice

We engage with those who receive care to shape our strategies and enhance our services. We do this by listening to the perspectives of patients, their family members and their caregivers, and by working with them to identify and address their priorities. Through surveys, collaboration tables, focus groups and more, Canadians help inform our actions across the country.

By the Numbers

81%
of Canadians report interest in accessing their own personal health information electronically.
4 in 5
Canadians agree their health information should be electronically shared among all healthcare practitioners.
75%
of Canadians report interest in making an appointment with their regular place of care electronically

Recognition & Inclusion Statement

Infoway patient partners developed the Patient/Family/Caregiver Recognition and Inclusion Statement. This statement acknowledges the critical role of patients, families and caregivers in the health system and underscores our commitment to collaborate with them as we work toward improving the health system. This statement grounds us in our discussions and reminds us of our responsibilities toward patients, families and caregivers. The statement reads:

We recognize the unwavering commitment and essential impact that patients, families and caregivers have and will always have on the Canadian health system.

Canada Health Infoway pledges to continuously listen to the perspectives and learn from the lived experiences of patients, families and caregivers to ensure respectful collaboration in the work we do and influence.

We look forward to building true partnerships and acknowledging shared successes.

Patients Included

We strive to ensure the patient voice is heard in every conversation about digital health. This includes at the Infoway Partnership Conference, which gathers thought leaders, influencers and digital health experts to discuss opportunities for transforming health care in Canada. Since 2017, the Partnership Conference has attained Patients Included accreditation, which recognizes that the event satisfied the criteria identified in the Patients Included charter.

Empowering Patients

We worked with our partners across Canada and had input from more than 1,200 Canadians to develop the Digital Health Learning Program — a set of resources aimed at helping people learn about the digital health services that are available to them.

Explore the program to find out how you can better manage your own health and wellbeing by learning more about virtual care, the laws surrounding your personal health information and how you can proactively manage your care.

A Patient’s Perspective

Sandy Ketler believes digital health not only empowers patients, but enables patients to receive better care.