Health Council of Canada. (2011). Progress Report 2011: Health care renewal in Canada. Retrieved from http://www.healthcouncilcanada.ca/docs/rpts/2011/progress/2011Progress_ENG.pdf.

“In 2008, the Health Council of Canada released Rekindling Reform: Health Care Renewal in Canada, 2003–2008, a report on the progress made since First Ministers’ groundbreaking attempts to renew the health care system: the 2003 First Ministers’ Accord on Health Care Renewal, and the 2004 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care (commonly referred to as the health accords)…

Three years after the release of Rekindling Reform, the Health Council of Canada offers this report which, along with subsequent annual reports, will assess progress made on selected accord commitments. This year, we are reporting on wait times, pharmaceuticals management, electronic health records, teletriage, and health innovation. Each section summarizes what the accords say, what we said in Rekindling Reform, and where things stand today (which we have gathered from public sources; through feedback from federal, provincial, and territorial health officials; and from interviews with key stakeholders in the Canadian health care system).

To properly assess progress, it is important to look at what governments have reported to their residents to see whether targets were set for reaching the goals expressed in the accords. Where jurisdictions have set targets for their commitments, we used them to assess progress. Some commitments, such as wait times, have well-developed measures to gauge progress, while others require a more narrative approach. Where we can, we describe provincial and territorial strategies for addressing challenges and bringing about renewal.”