FOR EVERYONE
THE STARTING POINT FOR ACTION
Welcome to The Center for Patient Protection
&
Patient Protection.Healthcare
Improving outcomes | Healing Harm
Healthcare and mental health delivery through a more compassionate, patient-informed lens.
“It is not acceptable for patients to be harmed by the health care system that is supposed to offer healing and comfort.”
from To Err is Human, an investigation by the Institute of Medicine into patient safety and medical errors,
November 1999
Medical errors in the hospital setting are the third leading cause of death in Canada and the United States.
They add needless emotional trauma and distress to millions of families.
They produce billions of dollars in avoidable costs to our healthcare systems.
With medical errors taking thousands of lives every year in Canada and the United States, we think our healthcare systems need a second opinion and a more innovative approach to combating this public health crisis.
Let's start by listening to what patients and families say they really need to stay safe, and remove the barriers that are permitting this harm to continue. The Center for Patient Protection is a voice for patients and families everywhere that is leading the way.
at Patient Protection.Healthcare
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FOR PROVIDERS
THE STARTING POINT FOR TRUE PARTNERSHIP
Did you know?
Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in Canada and the United States.
Research has shown that one in 18 patients are harmed during their stay in a Canadian hospital. That adds up to a lot of patients. And a lot of avoidable harm.
30,000 hospitalized patients lose their lives to medical errors in Canada every year. That’s the equivalent of a fully loaded jumbo jet crashing and killing everyone on board each week.
The risk of avoidable death in a U.S. hospital with a D or F patient safety grade is 92 percent higher than it is in hospitals with an A grade.
Canada has no similar hospital rating tool to allow patients and families to make informed decisions about the safety of their healthcare provider.
It is predicted that 12 million Canadians in hospital and home-care settings will be harmed by the healthcare system over the next 30 years, costing the health-care system an additional $2.75 billion per year. Another 1.2 million people will lose their lives.
The Center for Patient Protection is the oldest patient-focused advocacy of its kind in Canada. Through our work, patient and family outreach clinics and extensive knowledge base, we contribute to better patient safety and innovations to avoid harm around the world every day.
A few of our most-visited pages and resources by patients, families and healthcare professionals worldwide.
The quest for more compassionate care
One of the oldest healing tools in medicine is still one of the best, and least expensive: Compassion.
Eliminate gaps in womens’ healthcare
A Call to End Life-Threatening Barriers to Effective Healthcare for Women There is a gigantic imbalance in the equation between the healthcare women need and the healthcare we receive. It is placing too many women at risk of avoidable pain, chronic disease and early death.
Create a user-friendly patient safety rating system for Canadian hospitals
An informed patient is a safer patient. Hospital safety ratings are an important tool for empowering patients and families to make the right decisions. So why doesn't Canada have a similar system? Patients are less safe when they are left in the dark.
Stamp Out Ageism and the Thieves of Hope
Everyone, regardless of age, should have the right to try — not just the duty to die.
Hand Washing Isn’t Just for Kids
The single most important step healthcare workers can take to protect patients and themselves is washing their hands before and after every patient-related contact. So why do many fail to comply?
Eliminate Taxpayer Subsidy of Doctors’ Insurance
Protecting doctors by having the public pay part of their insurance premiums harms true accountability to patients and families.
Make Apology Normal
Apology after harm should be the rule, not the exception.
Install “Black Box” Technology in Operating Rooms
Black boxes would make surgery more transparent and safer.
Turning Transparency into Patient Safety
Make public reporting of medical errors and harmful incidents mandatory.
Eliminate Hospital Parking Fees
Reducing parking costs can assist with patient care and recovery.
Safer do-not-resuscitate practices
Our extensive research, along with the huge volume of cases reported to The Center for Patient Protection reveals that there are few areas of patient and family engagement that need change more than hospital DNR practices.
Since 2018, PatientProtection.Healthcare and the ZeroNow Campaign have called for federal action to address gender-based gaps in healthcare and in the well-being of victims of sexual violence. In Prime Minister Trudeau’s mandate letter of December 2019 to the Minister of Health, the federal government committed to developing an action plan to reduce gender-related health gaps. Kathleen Finlay’s Hill Times op-ed is part of a series of articles and commentaries that provide insight into a way forward that can produce genuine game-changing outcomes.
Reducing the health and emotional harms of gender violence and sexual harassment.
Kathleen Finlay’s op-ed in The Hill Times, calling for appointment of a
federal gender-based violence Commissioner.
Gender violence and sexual harassment carry huge physical and emotional consequences for victims. They can be life-altering. They can last for years, even decades. It is a healthcare issue that needs to be addressed more comprehensively by governments, healthcare providers, health professionals and the legal community. This especially includes the harm caused by non-disclosure agreements. Banning them is a major focus of our sister advocacy at the ZerONow Campaign to combat gender violence and sexual harassment.
“The sequelae unleashed by NDAs and the trauma of institutional betrayal should themselves be enough to throw these artifacts of abuse into the dustbin of history.” — Kathleen Finlay
Read more about ending the harm of NDAs on our ZerONow Campaign site.
Reducing the harm of mental health crisis and the tragedy of suicide.
Suicide is becoming an epidemic among certain population groups in Canada. Every year, at least 100,000 Canadians attempt to end their lives. Among youth, suicide is the second leading cause of death. Victims of gender-based violence and bullying are especially at risk, as are members of our Indigenous communities. We call for a new approach and fresh thinking to address this public health crisis. Our proposal for the creation of a national three-digit 988 suicide prevention hotline network has been adopted by the House of Commons and is being implemented by the CRTC. This is a major accomplishment of which The Centre for Patient Protection is enormously proud. Read more about our campaign to bring 988 to Canada.
Audio interview from CBC Radio News flagship The World at Six
Related articles by Kathleen Finlay
‘Deny And Defend’ Culture Weakens Trust In Health-Care System
Canadian Doctors Should Learn to Apologize
Our Health-Care Systems Need More Compassion
COVID-19 anxiety shows why Canada needs a 9-8-8 number for mental health emergencies
(CBC News opinion)
Canada’s mental health system is broken – The Hill Times
More interviews and op-eds by Kathleen Finlay on 988 for Canada