Advisory Committee on Health Delivery and Human Resources

The Federal/Provincial/Territorial (F/P/T) Advisory Committee on Health Delivery and Human Resources (ACHDHR) was established in 2002 by the Conference of Deputy Ministers (CDM) of Health. ACHDHR is a standing committee that reports to the F/P/T Conference of Deputy Ministers of Health (CDM).

Mandate

The CDM mandated the ACHDHR to provide policy and strategic advice to it on the planning, organization and delivery of health services including health human resources.

Structure

The ACHDHR consists of senior representatives from each province/territory and Health Canada. In addition, external experts (i.e. academics, researchers, etc) related to the committee’s mandate may be invited to attend committee meetings.

ACHDHR may establish task groups to undertake the examination of specific issues on its behalf and seeks approval from CDM for a yearly work plan and budget.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Identify emerging issues.
• Develop recommendations for Deputy Ministers’ approval.
• Provide a national forum for discussion and information sharing of F/P/T issues.
• Provide oversight and direction to task groups and sub-committees for work undertaken on the Committee’s behalf.
• Report annually to CDM on accomplishments.

Key ACHDHR Accomplishments

• Implemented a Committee on Entry-to-Practice Credentials that examined and recommended an assessment process for managing proposals to change an entry-to-practice credential for medical and health professions. The assessment was based on Pan-Canadian policies and principles applicable to all health professions. For full description of the process see Entry-to-Practice assessment process.
• Developed A Framework for Collaborative Pan-Canadian Health Human Resources Planning which was approved by F/P/T Ministers of Health in 2005 and revised in 2007.
• Provided direction on the development of an agreement with all P/Ts on the implementation of a national assessment of international medical graduates.
• Supported pan-Canadian data and modeling workshops in 2007 and 2009, which shared knowledge and promoted collaborative Health Human Resources (HHR) data and modeling activities.
• Produced a report entitled How Many is Enough? Redefining Self-Sufficiency for the Health Workforce: A Discussion Paper.