New Health Indicators Report Released
A report released today, Sept, 30, titled Reporting to Nova Scotians on Comparable Health and Health System Indicators, will help guide government in its commitment to deliver better health care to Nova Scotians.
Nova Scotia has joined all other provinces and territories, as well as the federal government, in releasing the report which allows a comprehensive accounting of Nova Scotia's health status and health-care system. The report also allows more accurate comparisons between jurisdictions on health-care performance. Each jurisdiction is releasing its report today.
"The ability to provide Nova Scotians better health care is directly linked to our ability to collect and utilize health information," said Health Minister Jamie Muir. "It has been a priority for us to invest in a range of information management and information technology initiatives to help us better manage the health-care system and deliver better health care to the people."
The report stems from an agreement made two years ago between premiers to direct health ministers across the country to address the need for comparable health information in Canada. Historically, provinces and territories have collected health information in different ways, which made it difficult to compare one jurisdiction to another. This report addresses that problem by presenting comparable information from a number of standard indicators that reflect the performance of the health-care system in each jurisdiction. A new report will be produced every two years.
The data indicates that while we have certain challenges and several success stories in Nova Scotia, there are far more similarities than differences between the province and the rest of Canada.
"Increasing our capacity to collect and use health information is useful for planners and providers alike because it helps us know where we need to improve," said Mr. Muir. "It is also useful for the public who deserve to know how the province is doing in comparison to the rest of Canada. Nova Scotians can expect a report like this to play a role in the accountability of government and its management of the health-care system."
The report is a first step for many provinces and territories. Not all jurisdictions, including Nova Scotia, were able to report on all the indicators. The federal, provincial and territorial governments are committed to developing new and better comparable indicators of health-system performance for the next report in two years. This will include work in the area of access and wait- time information, as well as information on the outcomes of health-care services.
The complete technical report, as well as an executive summary, highlights and discussion report, are available online at www.gov.ns.ca/health/pirc . Copies of the report are also available by contacting the Department of Health at 902-424-5886.