Supply Chain Advancement Network in Health (SCAN Health) is a not-forprofit corporation hosted by the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor.
In 2022, the Government of Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) awarded SCAN Health $2,489,160 over five years to develop a Community of Practice to advance health supply chain resilience, workforce sustainability and economic recovery in Canada’s post-pandemic future. With a network of over 110 multi-sectoral partner organizations and citizen advocacy groups from across Canada, SCAN Health will build a Community of Practice (CoP) that designs, validates and scales collaborative supply chain solutions, practices and measurement tools to improve health system capacity to manage supply chain disruptions well into the future.
Message from the Chair
Creating the Foundation for a Stronger Canada
Lynne Golding Chair
It is an honour to report once again on the incredible progress being made by the SCAN Health Community of Practice to create solutions that advance Canadian health supply chain resilience to improve patient safety, workforce sustainability and economic growth for our domestic suppliers.
Earlier this year the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) awarded the SCAN Health Community of Practice outstanding mid-term results recognizing our extensive partner network, multijurisdictional collaboration, sustainable solutions and “Canada First” mindset. This is a testament to the exceptionalcontributionsofourpartnerstocreateamore resilient future where all Canadians can equitably access health products when and where they are needed. It also positions us well as we embark on the next phase of work, to pilot and implement these solutions with our partners.
The SCAN Health Community of Practice continues to make significant progress as solutions are undergoing testing to ensure they will be sustainable and scalable when adoptedintoexistingprogramsacrossthecountry.Wearedeeplygratefultoourpartners fortheirengagementandcommitmenttoimplementation.Bycontributingtheirexpertise, experience and unique perspectives from the public and private sectors, governments, manufacturing,healthproviders,citizensand academics,weensuretheresultsrepresent thediverseperspectivesacrossourcountry.Iamconfidentthat together wewillcontinue to identify critical findings and solutions that create the foundation for a stronger and more resilient Canada.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to sincerely thank our partners and their networks for the extensive time and resources they have contributed and look forward to the results of another successful year.
Message from the Scientific Director & CEO
At the End of Health Supply Chain is Human Life
With the threat of tariffs significantly impacting our health supply chain and health workforce, a culture of patriotism is advancing a “Canada First” mindset that seeks to implement jurisdictional strategies. These strategies will strengthen the resilience of supply chains byengagingCanadiancompaniestoenhance stabilityof supply to Canadian health systems.
Dr. Anne Snowdon Scientific Director & CEO
Workgroups engaged multi-jurisdictional and sectoral collaboration, risk assessment, domestic supplier engagement and data integration to advance SCAN Health’s Community of Practice mandate. Diverse perspectives of citizens, clinicians, health system leaders,supplychainteams,manufacturers,distributors, government and Indigenous leaders co-designed five supply chain resilience solutions in real world settings that encompass a “Canada First” mindset These solutions have been pilot tested to ensure equitable, timely access to critical products across health care settings.
The CoP has been described as the “only forum in Canada where all key stakeholders are at the table to advance supply chain resilience from diverse perspectives”. Partners from across the CoP have been pilot testing these solutions to create the evidence necessary for adoption in the health system. Once implemented, these solutions are tested for the potential for scalability and sustainability. Initial findings include:
• Patient risk and impact must be prioritized when managing supply disruptions
• Real-time product data sharing and transparency is needed across jurisdictions
I am truly grateful for the extraordinary commitment and tireless efforts of our partners that has led to the co-design of supply chain strategies that overcome health supply disruptions and strengthen resilience across Canadian health systems. We look forward to continuing to work with partners to improve health supply chain resilience in Canada.
Community of Practice
Partnership Building Across Sectors and Jurisdictions
The Community of Practice creates a forum for partnership engagement to effectively co-design scalable solutions to advance health supply chain resilience in Canada.
Health system stakeholders strive for proactive supply chain management to effectively respond to supply disruptions to support equitable and safe care delivery.
Private sector and industry bring expertise in global supply networks to build supply chain capacity for healthcare systems that leverage domestic manufacturing.
Policy makers and government work to achieve equitable supply chain processes that effectively manage product disruptions across jurisdictions.
Academic research teams capture evidence of the impact of supply chain solutions to advance resilience nationally.
Patients and citizens bring lived experiences to inform the design of equitable health supply chain solutions to achieve value for Canadians.
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Multi-Jurisdictional Collaboration Strategy
Year 3 Achievements
Canada First: Solutions to Protect Every Canadian
Enables collaboration betweenhealth systems,governmentand the private sector to proactively identify risks and strengthen equitable distribution of products to populations with the greatest need and health risks.
Healthcare Supply Chain Risk Assessment Tool
Quantifies risks of supply disruptions to inform data driven decision making to protect the health and wellness of Canadians and the workforce.
Domestic Manufacturing Search Platform
Digital search platform, enabled by artificial intelligence, identifies Canadian companies that manufacture health products to inform procurement decisions that strengthen “Canada First” self-reliance and economic growth.
Clinician Education and Communication Strategy
Simulation exercises of historical supply disruptions create knowledge sharing, experiential learning and collaboration among supply chain teams and clinicians.
Product Data Integration into Patient Record
Ensures product data is digitally integrated into the patient health record, supported by Canada Health Infoway and Canadian Institute for Health Information which strengthens data flow and interoperability across jurisdictions
Our Vision
Products and Care When and Where They are Needed Most
Health supply chain is an essential lifeline that makes it possible for health systems to deliversafeandquality patientcare.ItiscrucialthatCanadadevelops,adopts andscales solutions to achieve supply chain resilience that enables health systems to track products and utilization rates to inform strategies that reduce risk of supply shortages and disruptions to protect the health and safety of patients and our health workforce. SCAN Health’s mission is to ensure every Canadian hospital, health system and community health setting has the capacity to deliver world-class patient care through a robust supply chain infrastructure which includes informing policy development, supporting domestic suppliers and designing digital integration to capture critical data points.
All sectors around the world felt devastating impacts from COVID-19 and there is much to learn from each other. By working together, we can mobilize our collective expertise and accelerate the collaboration needed to tackle the most pressing issues facing health systems in a post-pandemic future. This Community of Practice is creating a future that will advance digitally enabled supply chain infrastructure to ensure access to essential data to inform decisions by governments and healthcare leaders, a secure pipeline of quality products where they are needed most, protection for personnel to sustain the workforce and increased manufacturing capacity to advance economic recovery and prepare Canada to meet patient needs. The Community of Practice's co-design strategy dismantles barriers among stakeholders and jurisdictions, ensuring that all viewpoints and expertise contribute to the co-design of solutions and implementation at scale.
Partners Contributing to Co-Design
Solution Co-Design Sessions
The CoP brings us all together creating the tools, frameworks and strategies that improve supply chain resilience in Canada. We are all facing similar challenges and the more we can help each other the better.
Tony Williams Senior Director of Supply Chain NL Health Services
To protect Canadians, we must proactively safeguard the health supply chain, instead of reacting to every major event. The Community of Practice is designing solutions to achieve this goal.
Sav
DiPasquale
President
Canadian Pharmaceutical Distribution Network
Adopting CoP solutions will transform the Canadian health supply chain to improve clinicians’ capacity to provide care and strengthen patient outcomes.
Dr. Alex Mitchell
Surgeon
Nova Scotia Health Authority
The Community of Practice has helped us all gain foresight into potential supply disruptions that make it possible to proactively mitigate these risks for Canadian health systems.
Dr. Christian Leuprecht
Distinguished Professor
Royal Military College & Queen’s University
Lessons Learned
Strategies to Advance Health Chain Supply Resilience
“Stronger Together”: A Community of Practice Strategy to Solve Canada’s Supply Chain Crisis”
Building collaborative partnerships engaged diverse supply chain stakeholders to develop solutions to support healthcare supply chain resilience throughout Canada.
“Team Canada”: Collaboration as a Strategy to Achieve Self Reliance for Canadian Health Systems
Real-world simulations enabled key stakeholders and leaders to collaborate on novel supply management strategies to mitigate risks and strengthen resilience to sustain care continuity for Canadians.
An “Early Warning” Strategy to Enable Proactive Risk Management of Supply Shortages in Canada
Proactive risk identification and assessment mitigates risks to patients and the workforce, and contributes to a more resilient supply chain for health systems.
Built Here, Bought Here: Strengthening Self Reliance to support “Canada First” Healthcare
Sourcing from domestic suppliers advances self reliance and secures health system capacity to deliver care while simultaneously driving economic growth.
“Shot in the Dark”: Bridging Communication Gaps to Empower Clinicians during Supply Disruptions
Mobilizing clinician expertise to inform decisions during critical product shortages is crucial to protecting and sustaining safe and quality care delivery.
Making the “Unseen” Visible: A Data Strategy to Create Visibility in Canada’s Health Supply Chain
Integration of standardized product data into the patient record enables healthcare systems to identify health outcomes linked to products used in care.
A Way Forward Pathway to Resilience
Canada continues to experience the highest number of supply disruptions of any country intheworld,fueledby geopoliticaluncertaintyandfragilityofglobal healthsupply chains. The emergence of “Canada First” patriotism offers health system leaders and decision makers an important opportunity to accelerate supply resilience to ensure every Canadian has access to quality health products
To be sustainable and responsive to the many events that impact health supply chains, Canadianhealthsystems muststrengthenselfreliance onCanadian companies, manage risks and diversify supply globally. Significant progress has been made by our very committed partners and Workgroups in designing and advancing the solutions needed to be proactive and resilient to global supply disruptions. SCAN Health is well positioned to advance the implementation of these solutions by mobilizing existing organizational teams, programs and health system pathways to ensure long term sustainability of supply.
Thepastpracticesofjurisdictionsmanaging supplyshortagesin isolation isnowshifting toward a greater openness for collaboration as Provincial and Territorial leaders engage in new partnerships to support “Canada First” objectives. This imperative creates fertile groundtoadvancecollaborationacrossthecountrytoensureallprovincesandterritories have equitable access to health products to support care delivery and drive economic value for Canadian companies.
The Community of Practice solutions set the stage to advance what our partners refer to as “Making Canada Whole”. It will take the collective wisdom, experience and commitment of all stakeholders to strengthen self reliance on Canadian companies, to support strategic partnerships, to fortify economic relationships with global partners to secure the supply of health products into the future.
SCAN Health is deeply grateful for the impressive work of our partners in creating the conditions to ensure Canada has a strong and resilient health supply chain
The SCAN Health CoP is advancing national collaboration and designing solutions to improve supply chain resilience in health systems that strengthen patient safety, workforce capacity and control costs. This collaborative leadership is essential to deliver value to Canadians.
Jean-Philippe Blouin Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Distribution and Operations McKesson Canada
Acknowledgements
To the Changemakers Championing This Work
SCAN Health wishes to express its deep appreciation to the incredible partners driving the Community of Practice forward for their unwavering commitment and substantial contribution to achieving health supply chain resilience in Canadian health systems. Together, we will work towards a brighter future where care, processes and products are available when and where they are needed most to ensure workforce safety, world-class health care and equitable outcomes.
Learn more about our network of partners, whose dedication and acumen have been paramount in our accomplishments over the past year.
• Board of Directors
• Strategic Advisory Council
• Community of Practice Workgroup Leaders
• Partners
• Team
Aspecial acknowledgementto strategicpartners,ShoppersDrugMart andNGenfortheir continuous support of the Community of Practice.
SCAN Health is supported, in part, by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canada Summer Jobs and is hosted at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor.
