Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for that question because the time goes so quickly and I wanted to mention what they are doing with veterans south of the border. They have a huge problem.
They have a program led by Dr. Tracy Gaudet for the transformation of health care as applied to the veterans down there. She mentions the increase in the past decade in heart disease, diabetes and stroke, in spite of the best efforts. The message is, “Doing more of the same, Even if we do it better, will NOT fix this problem. Not for our Veterans, and not for [our health care system]”.
They are using an integrative approach. They way they define that is this way:
Whole Health: A well developed national infrastructure for provision of a proactive integrative health approach for Veterans, which is inclusive of a relationship based approach, self care strategies, complementary and alternative approaches, and integrative health coaching.
This approach puts the patient at the centre of the treatment. They are concerned that the health care costs are not sustainable.
The Institute of Medicine Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public in February 2009 said, “This disease-driven approach to care has resulted in spiraling costs as well as a fragmented health system that is reactive, episodic, inefficient and impersonal.”
That is what this motion is about: trying to move the yardsticks so we get better outcomes for our vets, for the elderly, for first nations, for Inuit and for all Canadians.