Evidence of meeting #82 for Health in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was patients.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Vice-President Clinical Services, University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Interestingly, there's literature out there, and a lot—
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Particularly for some of us men, you were saying?
Vice-President Clinical Services, University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Well, no, they don't like to use the calls at all.
There is literature out there on these automated calling systems from years ago, and they actually studied where people are most honest. They are most honest on an automated calling system, as opposed to talking to a practitioner, so we have a high degree of confidence in the system. Now, it wasn't in the addictions field, but we have confidence that people answer honestly, and you can only do what you can do. If they lie to you, they lie to you, and we'll see it on their vital signs.
Vice-President Clinical Services, University of Ottawa Heart Institute
We'll catch them in about three weeks if they've lied about their medications.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
How about you, Dr. Selby? You were mentioning these apps. It's the same thing. Do people go to these apps? Is it resulting in more people going to hospitals and getting themselves checked out for no apparent reason?
Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine, Psychiatry and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, As an Individual
I think it's an empirical question, but what we do notice is that people are coming in way more informed. Now when I'm talking to patients, before I start giving any advice, I'll ask them what it is they know about a medication or what they have read about it. Then I fill in the blanks, as opposed to starting with a lecture.
What it has really done is we actually have a true dialogue and the patient is more engaged, so I think it creates a way for people to talk. Has it actually led to increased utilization? My hope is that it leads to more appropriate utilization, as opposed to—
Liberal
Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine, Psychiatry and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, As an Individual
I think you would—
Liberal
Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine, Psychiatry and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, As an Individual
Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve.
I think what happens...and this is when I used to take care of pregnant women, or young mothers, really. There wasn't a lot of social infrastructure around, so when they discovered that the baby had a little bump—it was actually just the breastbone—sometimes they would come. That kind of vigilance, that caring, does come into it.
My hope is that the communities around them can help support that, but you do see that learning curve.
Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine, Psychiatry and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, As an Individual
It does work both ways, absolutely.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Okay.
Ms. Elmslie, you mentioned CANRISK. What is it, a little machine? It's a questionnaire.
Director General, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes.
Liberal
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Then what happens after you lie and fill out that questionnaire?
Director General, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada
It's a web-based tool, so it's Internet-based. It's 12 questions. You go on the questionnaire. You answer each question. As you answer, information pops up and tells you about healthy living, about things you can do to change the way you're currently living if you have risk factors. You end up, at the end of the questionnaire, with a risk score that says whether you're at low risk for diabetes or pre-diabetes, or moderate or high.
The true value, although we actually need to study this more, comes in that discussion with your health care provider. If you're with your pharmacist when you're filling out the questionnaire, then the pharmacist can say to you that you really need to be paying more attention to this aspect of your health, or you really should see your family doctor because you're at very high risk for diabetes or pre-diabetes.
So it's that kind of counselling session and education session, and it's at a time when people are motivated to learn.
Conservative
