An announcement today by the province's Minister of Health, Seniors, and Active Living will see the establishment of a new provincial health organization (PHO), named Shared Health Services Manitoba.

The new organization was as a result of findings from numerous studies of the province's health-care system. Shared Health Services Manitoba is set to improve patient care and provide coordinated clinical and business support to the province's regional health authorities (RHA's).

"Manitoba's health-care system is complex and siloed, with eight independent organizations each doing their own planning, standard setting, and service delivery in the relative isolation of one another," notes Kelvin Goertzen. "This is neither efficient nor effective and has been identified as a major impediment to improving access to quality health care and our ability to manage costs in a sustainable way."

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Goertzen adds, after the 2016-17 KPMG Healthcare Sustainability and Innovation Review, KPMG identified Manitoba's health-care system and governance model as overly complex for a province the size of Manitoba. He says both KMPG and the Provincial Clinical and Preventive Services Planning for Manitoba report by Dr. David Peachey noted Manitoba has never developed a provincial clinical and preventive services plan, something that's present in many other jurisdictions and noted to be essential to support effective health human resource planning, capital equipment investments, construction planning, and other initiatives that should be co-ordinated provincewide.

"Manitoba patients and their families should be the central focus of both acute care and long-term planning across the health-care system," says Dr. Peachey. "Manitobans will benefit from improved services, consistent standards of care across the province and the certainty that will result from a more integrated planning process."

Dr. Brock Wright was announced as the president and CEO of Shared Health Services Manitoba.

"Manitoba has very strong leadership in all major clinical specialities and the creation of Shared Health Services Manitoba will allow us to work across the province to develop and implement safe, patient-centered, cost-effective models of care, to set provincial standards and to support regions in the recruitment and retention of medical staff," says Wright."We have a tremendous opportunity before us, the chance to realign and refocus our system to better meet the needs of Manitobans - reducing duplication, ensuring co-ordination and consistency and, above all else, improving patient care and the overall sustainability of our health-care system."

The PHO will repurpose the existing corporate shell of Diagnostic Services Manitoba (DSM), meaning no net increase in organizations within the health-care system. Goertzen says regional health authorities will continue to be responsible for the provision of front-line health-care services in their region and will participate in provincial planning to ensure the delivery of effective services to all Manitobans.

"Health care is the most important and the most expensive service provided by the government. Manitoba families deserve to have access to the right care, at the right time, in the right place," says Goertzen. "We are taking concrete steps now to align health-care services with the needs of Manitobans, making our health-care system better, stronger, and more affordable for Manitoba families in the years to come."

Goertzen says the creation of Shared Health Services Manitoba will particularly benefit the rural part of the province. For example, he says historically, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, as the largest RHA in the province housed all of the expertise, including clinical leads and medical leadership.

"By now moving those clinicians, those experts into the central shared services organization, those are things that rural RHA's will be able to access as well, that expertise when they are planning their programs," notes Goertzen.

Shared Health Services Manitoba is expected to take effect April first. Goertzen says ultimately efficiencies create financial savings.

For more information on the changes, visit www.rightcaremanitoba.ca.