Obviously, as you've mentioned, it isn't the role of the federal government to deliver health care services, but we feel there is an important role and it's a role that the federal government has fortunately been playing. First of all, there are obviously areas of direct federal jurisdiction that are critical and have to be attended to, with first nations health being one them. We think there's an important role for the federal government in helping to pilot innovative initiatives that can really make a difference.
I'll speak from the perspective of lung health. To take the example I brought up, it's a wonderful thing that Dr. Jean Bourbeau and his team have done in Quebec. The results are very impressive. It's a little dismaying that after some years of this being well known and recognized, it hasn't extended beyond the boundaries of Quebec. We think there is an important role to catalyze the situation, identify these best practices, and assist in their dissemination. It's not to create federal programs but to see that these best practices are adopted.
There's similarly a serious problem with lung disease. Physicians and other health professionals are not fully aware of the clinical guidelines for treating the disease. I have a very good friend who's in the care of a physician. She has COPD and it's plain to me that her disease is not being properly managed because the physician simply doesn't know what to do. She's resisting treatment because she's independent. No one has told her that if she wants to stay independent, the important thing is to manage her disease properly. It's the key to independence.
This is where best practices such as respiratory, asthma, and COPD educators can have a role. I think there's a role for the federal government in helping to develop and disseminate these best practices. It's one of the things that's happening through the national lung health framework.