I have spent most of my career in health sciences and innovation in both Canada and the United States. As we grapple with the challenges in our health systems across Canada, it is clear to me that while there are several areas that need attention (including policy and new funding models), there is an untapped opportunity for innovation in health.
This is an opportunity for us to leverage Canadian world-class models, technologies, and solutions that can not only transform healthcare in Canada but also be an economic growth sector. This will fuel technology jobs and investment regionally with products and services that can be exported globally. This is crucial as the needs of countries around the world increase as they adapt to the evolving demands of the health of their residents.
Alberta is an incubator of novel technologies, yet Albertans rarely experience their benefits due to slow adoption. This juncture between the abundant availability of novel technologies and their uptake into health care is where innovation is most needed. We simply cannot maintain the status quo; with concerted action to empower our health systems to embrace innovation, we can win big.
The opportunity is vast here in Alberta. The province’s growing and investable health technology sector is among our many unique provincial assets. We are rich with resources to support the creation of pathways to help multiple companies commercialize, catalyze health innovation, and affect health transformation. One asset is the technologies themselves. Our strengths in key technology areas (such as artificial intelligence and machine learning) means we have the right tools here for health transformation. Leveraging our technology strengths in tandem with our post-secondary and entrepreneurial company talent will contribute to health transformation, resulting in economic growth and better health outcomes for all Albertans.
Other resources, like data, also enable opportunities for health systems to embrace innovation. When safe data sharing techniques are combined with our provincial data assets, homegrown Albertan solutions can solve healthcare challenges not just locally, but nationally and globally, allowing participating companies to scale to other markets.
To fully harness the opportunity of innovation in health (and its benefits), I believe a change in how we approach our health systems is necessary. This means bold leadership throughout many groups, including government, healthcare organizations and the business sector. It also means addressing the barriers that exist for innovators, and creating a model to drive innovation into health so multiple companies can commercialize. I believe it is only then can we position our companies competitively for Canadian and global markets. This will result in the most important impact of all: providing health benefits back to Albertans.
Reg Joseph was appointed as the CEO of Health Cities in February 2018. He has 25 years’ experience spanning the health, technology and investment sectors. At Health Cities, Reg is focused on developing new pathways to adopt innovation in our health systems to drive better health outcomes and economic growth for our region.
