Harper Government Renews Funding for Health Information

News Release: Harper Government Invests in Health Research

The Harper Government is providing $238.7 million over three years to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) to continue its work of providing reliable, comparable data about the health care system.

This funding will result in more timely, meaningful, and comparable information to help manage the health care system. It will also strengthen accountability and deliver better results to Canadians.

Performance measurement and reporting are used in leading health systems around the world to drive change and innovation. Working with its partners across the country, CIHI has created a strong foundation for performance measurement and reporting in Canada.

For example, CIHI has developed a suite of tools that can be used to measure quality and efficiency in hospitals. By mining data and contrasting and comparing themselves with their peers, jurisdictions, regional authorities and facilities can assess their performance, learn from each other, and make better use of existing resources. Beyond greater efficiencies, data can be used to drive decisions that lead to better, safer care.

The Harper Government is committed to strengthening accountability so that Canadians see results for the significant investments we are collectively making in health care. This announcement is part of the government’s commitment to work with provinces and territories to make Canada’s health system more efficient and sustainable.

Funded by federal, provincial and territorial governments, CIHI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation that provides essential information on Canada’s health system and the health of Canadians. CIHI’s health data and information is focused on types of care, spending and the health workforce, health system performance, and factors that affect health. For example, CIHI tracks how many Canadians are admitted to hospital every year, what they’re being hospitalized for, average costs for individual procedures, and how these vary among provinces and health regions. CIHI reports on how much is spent on health care, where the money is going, and who’s spending it (public sector versus private sector).

For further information on how  CIHI data makes a difference, visit their website.

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Cailin Rodgers
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