A new report by the Mental Health Commission of Canada highlights the need for collaboration between the public and private sectors to address system challenges, drive innovation and deliver seamless, equitable mental-health and substance use health services for Canadians, says the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association.
The report summarized a series of roundtable discussions held in early 2024 — which brought together expertise from the public and private sectors, people with lived experience and mental-health service providers — and provides insights into collaborative strategies for addressing barriers and enhancing access to public and private mental-health services in Canada.
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Participants identified several priority areas for collaboration, including assessing current system capacity, creating common standards of care, adopting and promoting community-driven programming, developing strategies to address workforce capacity challenges, leveraging and scaling innovative practices and continuing to build on efforts to enhance data sharing and system navigation.
“Collaboration across sectors is essential to strengthening workforce capacity and ensuring Canadians receive the mental health support they need,” said Sheila Burns, director of health and disability policy at the CLHIA, in a press release. “By working together, we can develop innovative, tailored solutions that support access and improve outcomes for patients in communities across Canada.”
The CLHIA noted in 2023, 75 per cent of Canadians had access to privately-funded health insurance, with more than $730 million paid out in mental-health supports — more than double the amount in 2019.
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