Patient engagement in Canada has been an active part of the Canadian health care system since the new millennium.
[2] Patient engagement is based around person-centered care, the practice of medical patients actively participating in their own treatment - or research related to their treatment or conditions - in close cooperation with professionals and academic and medical institutions, regardless of the form of practice.
[3][4] These three components make up a basis of the Canadian approach to patient engagement, and each host institution tends to have their own definition of following terms, generalized below: Since 2015, patient advisors – patients advising on a project in the context of patient engagement – have been recruited to join hospital boards or health-care related projects across Canada in order to help institutions and medical professionals have a better understanding of the healthcare system from perspective of patients, their family members, and caregivers.
[3] For example, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), a sub-agency of the Canadian government under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Health, developed the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) to help patients and researchers work together and collaborate on specific research projects that are co-designed with patients, by patients, for patients.
They are also able to work with practice teams on either short or long-term commitments to determine the best course of action for future patients.