In recent years, patient-centredness has become a central focus in improving health care quality. In 2010, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) launched a four-year action plan aimed at transforming Canada’s health care through a framework aimed at creating a culture of patient-centred care, accountability and responsibility. Several of Canada’s provincial governments proceeded to launch patient-centred action plans, including the Government of Ontario’s “Patients First” framework, which prioritizes patient engagement and increased transparency. As an example of how organizations are putting these values into practice, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)’s transparency initiative, which aims to make more physician-specific information available to the public in order to help patients make informed decisions about their health care, was examined. This thesis asks how physicians and members of the public feel that the transparency initiative aligns with the CPSO’s public interest mandate. Using discourse analysis, 226 responses by physicians, members of the public and organizations on a discussion forum in the Policy Consultations section of the CPSO’s website were analyzed in order to identify the main themes in arguments for or against increased transparency. The results show that physicians and members of the public tended to differ in their views on the purposes and probable outcomes of the CPSO’s transparency initiative. The majority of physicians worried about patients’ ability to accurately understand and utilize the information being provided to them, and the negative impact that this might have on individual physicians and on the physician-patient relationship more broadly. Most members of the public had a more positive outlook on the potential for transparency to build public trust, help patients become informed and engaged decision-makers and improve patient safety.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/37975 |
| Date | 10 August 2018 |
| Creators | Foreman, Meagan |
| Contributors | Conway, Kyle |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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