MEDEC is committed to improving patient care through the rationale adoption of technology and system innovation and, as such, providing solutions that enable better patient care. Through meaningful engagement between government and the medical device industry all will better understand the medical technologies that are available to improve patient care while optimizing health systems.

Areas of engagement should include:

Technology Adoption and Reimbursement Policy

Industry has an important role to play in ensuring Canadian patients receive high quality healthcare through medical technology in partnership with governments. MEDEC and its members clearly understand that any technology innovations introduced in the healthcare system must be aligned with the governments overall priorities of delivering best possible patient outcomes for the public funds spent.

By ensuring that medical innovations are adopted in a safe and timely manner, governments can foster improvements in patient care. A close, collaborative working relationship with MEDEC and its member companies will support governments to directly connect the policy and priority needs of provincial health care systems with health innovations, thereby ensuring appropriate and efficient access to benefit patients. These collaborative efforts between governments and MEDEC are essential to enabling a policy and legislative framework that is supportive of technology adoption that will improve patient care in Canada.

MEDEC recognizes the difficult choices governments face when making decisions regarding reimbursement. As an industry, all have a responsibility to ensure line of sight and better communication with respect to “where technology is going” so the system can prepare for adoption and reimbursement. This “heads up” approach will allow governments to see farther into the future and make informed decisions.
 

Effective Regionalization

MEDEC and its member companies recognize there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to regionalization of the healthcare system. Given Canada’s geographic and population challenges, MEDEC understands there are a number of successful ways to deliver healthcare in Canada. MEDEC encourages and will continue to support governments in exploring options with respect to regionalization of healthcare delivery and look to best practices where implementation has been successful. MEDEC and its members look forward to ongoing consultation with all stakeholders during regional transformation, since many of the technologies offered by member companies ensure connectivity between providers and patients, and improved patient outcomes.
 

Health Technology Assessments (HTAs)

HTAs are becoming an integral component of the Canadian healthcare environment. HTAs are invaluable on many levels and should be used to inform decisions on the adoption, uptake, clinical applications and reimbursement of healthcare technologies. As the implementation of HTA in Canada is in its early stages, opportunity exists to design processes that are aligned, promoting the sharing of information thus creating efficiencies by eliminating duplication of effort. As the Government of Canada, each province and some hospitals are establishing their own HTA organizations, it is critical that we partner to coordinate efforts and reduce duplication of efforts.

A second and most critical opportunity to capitalize on is to link HTA to other decision making processes that impact clinical adoption, change management and funding/reimbursement. MEDEC recognizes the challenges of decision making in very complex and somewhat silo-based health systems, however, the true value of HTA and innovative medical technologies will only be realized through a whole system approach to health care resource management. MEDEC has developed expertise in HTA with and through member companies and is actively participating in HTA processes in several provincial jurisdictions. MEDEC stands by to partner with others in creating valid, efficient and useful HTAs.

Governments are continuing to struggle to contain the costs of delivering health care and will continue to do so as Canada’s population ages.  MEDEC and its members support governments in this pursuit and can provide assistance from both a technology and system improvement perspective.  The opportunity exists to partner with the medical device industry to better understand how to best leverage their investments and utilize technology in a way that supports system sustainability.

Areas where governments and MEDEC could partner together to enable health care system sustainability include:

Healthy Procurement Processes

MEDEC supports government’s goals of achieving best value for money in the procurement of goods and services. All public tendering should be conducted with fair, open and transparent sourcing processes that are consistent with supply chain guidelines and with governing agreements such as the Agreement on Internal Trade and applicable laws.

To support these practices, MEDEC follows its own industry-led Code of Conduct that is aligned with the spirit of fair and open tendering processes and interactions with government officials and healthcare professionals.

Governments have an obligation to ensure that any tendering processes are fair and open while at the same time recognizing the importance of innovation in delivering the best healthcare possible, as outlined in MEDEC’s Best Tendering Practices  . Procurement practices that are established ideally encourage innovation and foster the exchange of value between the parties in order to ensure the best outcomes for the system, the patient and the taxpayer.
 

Effective Funding Models

MEDEC recognizes that the system is currently funded in a variety of ways and at different levels across Canada.  Governments have a role to play to ensure that all Canadians have access to medically necessary procedures when they need them.   As governments look to modernize their system funding models, for example, through primary care reform or incentives to keep patients in the home, governments would benefit by consulting with our sector to see how technology can play a role in ensuring system sustainability. Additionally, Canadian governments can and should look to other global jurisdictions that have modernized funding models to improve patient outcomes. Similarly, MEDEC members who have an international presence can and are willing to share their experiences and learning obtained in these jurisdictions.
 

Meeting the Demographic Challenge

MEDEC recognizes that medical device technology will be an instrumental tool in assisting governments as they address the imminent demographic challenges faced by Canada. As the Canadian population ages, governments will need to work collaboratively to facilitate transforming the system to be able to deliver more care in the home or outside of acute care settings. MEDEC and its member companies can provide technology and share expertise in how to effectively transform care to allow patients to remain in their home or in the care of their family longer.  MEDEC member input will be invaluable, and most probably crucial, in ensuring that patients and the system are able to best address the management of chronic disease and co-morbidities as Canada’s aging population continues to grow. Technology in these areas will be vitally important to ensure Canadians are better able to manage their care, thus keeping them out of the high cost acute care space to the extent that is possible.