CAPCH Announces the Appointment of Dr. Alejandro (Alex) Jadad as Chair of the CAPCH Academic Research Collaborative

Toronto, November 5, 2009 - Dr. Vaughan Glover, CEO of the Canadian Association for People-Centred Health (CAPCH) today announced the appointment of Dr. Alex Jadad as Chair of the CAPCH Academic Research Collaborative. CAPCH is a national, non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the evolution to people-centred health. The Academic Research Collaborative, a program of CAPCH, brings together Canada's leading health and information technology researchers to conduct research into and advance the principles of people-centred eHealth innovation.

Dr. Jadad, who has been dubbed a "human Internet", is ideal for this position. He is a global leader in eHealth research and innovation, and has made it his lifelong mission to develop and leverage information and communication technologies to improve health systems and improve health and wellbeing for all, worldwide. For more information on Dr. Jadad, see: http://www.ehealthinnovation.org/?q=node/280.

Currently, Dr. Jadad is affiliated with the University of Toronto and the University Health Network, where he holds a number of key positions: Chief Innovator and Founder, Centre for Global eHealth Innovation; Rose Family Chair in Supportive Care and Canada Research Chair in eHealth Innovation; Professor in the departments of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Anesthesia, and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

“We are excited to have Dr. Jadad, with his years of experience leading eHealth initiatives around the world, joining forces with CAPCH” says Dr. Glover. "I am confident that Dr. Jadad will help turn CAPCH's vision for people-centred health into reality."

Dr. Jadad adds that his role as Chair of the Academic Research Collaborative is "a unique opportunity to foster collaborative efforts among academic researchers and innovators to pursue a common goal like never before – a people-centred health system."

"The rapidly escalating costs of healthcare demand that we come up with solutions that put health first, then medicine” says Dr. Harvey Skinner, Dean of the Faculty of Health, York University. "The Academic Research Collaborative enables CAPCH to engage a diverse group of stakeholders to design and test people-centred eHealth solutions that will keep more people healthier, longer."

CAPCH is a national organization focused on the vision of a people-centred health system. CAPCH promotes four principles of people-centred health:

• Responsibility: People should be encouraged to take responsibility for their health and adopt health enhancing behaviors in the pursuit of wellness.


• Autonomy: People should be empowered to make decisions about their own health by having access to their own health record and sharing it with whomever they wish.


• Informed Health Management: People should be informed about alternative treatments and best practices and so they can make educated decisions about their health.


• Partnership: People should collaborate with their providers to increase the quality of care.

CAPCH coordinates four programs to support these principles:

• Evangelization: Promoting the need for people-centred health through speaking engagements, conferences, and public appearances.


• Accreditation: Defining the standards for measuring and testing people-centred principles in health systems.


• Consulting: Working with providers and organizations on ways to develop people-centred systems.


• Research: Bringing together academics to develop people-centred eHealth solutions.

The Academic Research Collaborative (ARC) will bring together Canada's leading researchers and innovators across traditional institutional, geographic, and professional boundaries, to promote collaborative innovation in people-centred eHealth. The research conducted by the ARC will focus on improving the health of Canadians, reducing the demands on the system, and improving patient outcomes. Under the leadership of Dr. Jadad, ARC will promote the principles of radical 'glocal' innovation. This 'glocal' innovation leverages the best global innovations to improve local eHealth solutions, while, at the same time, contributes the best local innovations to the world, creating a virtuous innovation cycle.

About CAPCH

Founded in October 2005 by Dr. Vaughan Glover and Mr. William M. Tatham, the Canadian Association for People-Centred Health is a national grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the belief that Canadians deserve a health system that supports each person on a personal journey to wellness. CAPCH is dedicated to researching and sharing ideas about how to make the health system more responsive to the needs of the people and to encourage all stakeholders to build from consensus and to, at all times, put the health needs of the people first. For more information about CAPCH, visit www.capch.ca

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