Significant funding to improve health care for Saskatchewan patients
Posted: April 18, 2017 2:00 p.m.
SCPOR stakeholders gather at the University of Saskatchewan for today’s launch. Photo courtesy of David Stobe
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The Honourable Jane Philpott, Canada's Minister of Health, and Saskatchewan Health Minister Jim Reiter announced today a major investment in research to improve patient care in Saskatchewan. The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan announced a combined $63 million in funding and in-kind contributions for the launch of the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR).
"I strongly believe that innovation is essential to improving health care. Through initiatives such as the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research, we are promoting innovation, fostering collaboration, and helping ensure that we address the health care needs of people from Saskatchewan,” says the Honourable Jane Philpott, Canada's Minister of Health
SCPOR brings together the expertise of its nine provincial partners: Government of Saskatchewan, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, Saskatoon Health Region, eHealth and Health Quality Council.
Together the group provides resources and education in support of patient-oriented research to improve health care services for the people of Saskatchewan.
SCPOR will also collaborate with its counterparts in other provinces and territories to create a pan-Canadian platform for supporting patient-oriented research through the sharing of information and best practices.
“The new Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research will support our government's priorities, including improved access to appropriate mental health and addictions services, and better health outcomes for Saskatchewan's Indigenous people. This partnership will help advance our efforts to put our patients first,” says the Honourable Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan’s Health Minister
In line with provincial and federal health priorities, SCPOR’s current focus is on mental health and addictions.
“The University of Regina is excited to be a part of SCPOR because patient-oriented research is crucial to our scholarship,” says Dr. David Malloy, Vice-President (Research) at the University of Regina. “Our capacity to work with people across the province to improve health outcomes spans our entire institution and we are particularly well positioned to address SCPOR’s first research priority: mental health and addictions, areas where we have an established reputation for high impact research and excellence.”
SCPOR supports other areas of patient-oriented research and a unique aspect is that it provides guidance and support for researchers working in the area of Indigenous health, ensuring Indigenous communities are a part of the research planning, with the aim of improving health outcomes of Indigenous people in Saskatchewan.
SCPOR was developed under Canada's Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), a pan-Canadian coalition of partners from the public and private sector – all dedicated to the integration of research into care. SPOR moves the very best health research innovations into the front lines of health care.