April’s federal budget announcement of $1.8 billion over five years to support Canadian research prompted many people in the health research and innovation sector to hit the phones and fire up our networks. But no one does anything alone. Now it is time for all partners in the sector to come together quickly to make things happen. 

The new federal investments can help improve our ability to advance health innovation, retain talent, prepare for future health emergencies and much more. However, they will not live up to their potential without innovative and meaningful partnerships. 

The federal government can leverage its investments by fostering partnerships with the researchers who are making ground-breaking discoveries; the innovators who are turning those discoveries into novel health products; the health-care system that brings these innovations from bench to bedside; and the patients who are vital sources of information about what the community needs most. 

The rest of Canada can learn in this regard from the success that Nova Scotia has achieved in several key health-care partnerships. 

The power of innovative partnerships 

The power of innovative partnerships has reduced barriers and changed outcomes. In particular, Nova Scotia Health’s innovation hub has been a catalyst for change and has facilitated a culture of innovation across the province. Some examples are: 

Virtual Care NS provides virtual primary care, including access to in-person care, diagnostic testing and imaging, and specialist referral. Nearly 200,000 virtual visits have been completed since 2021 with an average of more than 400 daily visits. Many emergency department visits have been diverted. The program was recognized last year with a Canadian College of Health Leaders award. 

PharmacyClinics+ is a partnership between Nova Scotia Health and Sobeys/Lawtons Drugs. Pharmacists in these clinics work alongside primary care professionals to provide more access to care in community locations. Pharmacists in these clinics can treat and prescribe medication for patients with common illnesses or chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They can also provide care for strep throat, including diagnosis and treatment. Pharmacy walk-in clinics have enabled more than 40,000 visits since their launch in 2022. 

Care Coordination Centre (C3) is the first province-wide implementation of the command centre concept. It’s designed to reduce delays in patient flow and to help care teams rapidly deploy solutions using real-time data. The initial rollout was focussed on hospitals and community sites in the Halifax Regional Municipality, and a phased rollout is now in progress across the entire province. Since implementation in the Halifax region, there has been a 12-per-cent reduction in the average length of inpatient stays at one of our hospital sites, a 21-per-cent increase in average daily discharges and a 25-per-cent increase in discharge accuracy, meaning the right person discharged at the right time with right supports in place. 

Mobile primary care clinics that bring care closer to communities have seen more than 40,000 visits to date, with some sites seeing more than 200 visits per day. Thirty per cent were diversions from emergency departments.  

YourHealthNS is an app available to all Nova Scotians that has enabled faster access to health records and timely care options. More than 330,000 Nova Scotians who have used it since its launch last November. NovaStudies Connect is a digital app that connects Nova Scotians to more than 330 clinical research studies and clinical trials. Through the app, Nova Scotians can search for a study by a condition or a topic and sign up to be contacted for current or future studies where they may be eligible for participation. 

The Oncology Transformation Project provides a single access point to manage referrals, triage and treatment with information available in real time for the first time in a unique partnership with Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company dedicated to helping in the fight against cancer. 

Ring Rescue is an innovative ring removal kit developed by engineering students at Dalhousie University. It is a compression device that reduces swelling long enough to slip a ring off fingers when other methods fail. It’s now sold worldwide to medical professionals, firefighters, jewellers and funeral homes. 

Making the most of federal investments 

As a nurse, I know how important it is to get the job done. When I worked in the ICU, that meant thinking on your feet, innovating with what was available and responding quickly to what was needed. Later, as an academic, I had time to look at the big picture in needs-based approaches to health systems. We need both kinds of thinking and more. 

We need innovative and meaningful partnerships, leadership support and investments to improve our health-care system across Canada. 

In Nova Scotia, we have shown what can be done. We have worked with local, national and international partners, private industry and academics, clinicians and teams, patients and communities to bring the best evidence and innovations to enable rapid transformations across the health system. 

We have done this in a short period of time with demonstrated positive impact on care, access and health outcomes. 

The federal investments are timely and required. But we have work to do to ensure these investments can be realized to their full potential. That will require the right type of partnerships, leadership commitment, and appropriate engagement to ensure investments are meaningful and needs-based.