The Chair
Created on April 1st 2012, the Canada Research Chair on technologies and practices in health allows Dr. Gagnon to support her research program on integration, use and evaluation of new technologies in healthcare practices and organisations. To date, the Chair have helped to inform health professionals on the best strategies to integrate innovative technologies in their practices and have led to the identification of promising interventions to improve patient health and wellbeing.
eHealth solutions are increasingly present in healthcare and offer a hudge potential for care improvement by reinforcing patient’s engagement. Despite proven benefits, eHealth integration in the current health system remains suboptimal. From this perspective, the Chair’s main goal is to engage patients in decision-making regarding innovative technologies to support healthcare and services while ensuring the optimal integration of efficient technologies.
Thus, the Chair’s program covers three complementary axis that position the patient at the heart of the health system transformations:
Patient-centered technologies
Implementation and evaluation of interventions addressing individual, organisational and contextual factors that influence the optimal implementation of eHealth solutions in the health system with major concerns of patient’s perspective
Assessment of transformations
Evaluation of innovative technologies to provide evidence-based on the effects and impacts of their introduction on health care practices and organisations
Knowledge mobilization to support decisions
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) as tools for improving knowledge translation in health care practices and decision-making.
Build on collaborative efforts, Dr. Gagnon’s program will definitely contribute to advance science and practice on patient engagement in the development of innovative solutions that can promote more acceptable, relevant and sustainable care services.
Vision
Integrating efficient and appropriate technology solutions into the health system to support quality healthcare and patient-centered healthcare, improve equity and optimize the use of resources.
Objectives
More specifically, the Chair aims to: 1) identify the best strategies to engage patients in decision related to eHealth technologies; 2) develop, implement and evaluate eHealth solutions with patients, involving them in all phases of technologies life cycle; and 3) assess the impact of patient engagement on the acceptability and effectiveness of developed eHealth solutions.