Dr. Andreas Laupacis will take on a new role at the Department of Medicine (DoM) as Lead, Patient Involvement as of April 1, 2018. The intent of this new role will be to ensure the perspectives and experiences of patients drive the department’s work, and will have three main areas of focus:
Developing strategies to involve patients in DoM activities, including education/teaching, research and quality/innovation activities;
Encouraging research on how best to involve patients and determine the impact of their involvement; and
Educating staff, students and patients in best practices in patient involvement.
In conjunction with this new role, Healthy Debate – an online forum for evidence-based articles and opinion pieces from across the healthcare system – will be transferred to the department. The site will continue to post material focused on health policy but much of its material will be produced by patients, trainees and DoM faculty.
Its editorial team will be modified so that half of its members are patients. This will ensure that patients have a substantial impact on the topics covered, through their participation on the editorial board, encouraging patients to submit material, and providing them with help writing articles or shooting videos. Medical residents and faculty will also work with patients to produce materials.
Laupacis will step down as Executive Director of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital on March 31, 2018, but remains a Professor of Medicine at U of T. He is a general internist whose interest in healthcare is driven by his experiences as a consumer, practitioner, researcher and involvement in health care governance. He served on the Board of Directors of Alberta Health Services from 2008 to 2010, and was Chair of its quality committee from 2009 to 2010. He is currently the Chair of the Board of Health Quality Ontario . He holds a Canada Research Chair in Health Policy and Citizen Engagement.
