Togetherall, an online mental health support platform is now available in French and free to all Nova Scotians aged 16 and up through a partnership between Nova Scotia Health, the Office of Addictions and Mental Health, the Department of Advanced Education and IWK Health.
The digitalization of health care is helping improve efficiencies, eliminate barriers and advance patient care across the system. From robot-assisted surgery to mining big data and everywhere in between – technology and digital infrastructure are helping move the needle forward so that health care teams can harness opportunities to deliver the best possible care for patients.
From a very young age, those living with Cystic Fibrosis are aware that they have a life-threatening condition, and that their future might be uncertain. A new drug that has been referred to as the biggest innovation in cystic fibrosis treatment is changing that. As of November 2021, Trikafta, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is available to Nova Scotians with cystic fibrosis for free through the province’s pharmacare program.
Sobeys and Lawtons Drugs and Nova Scotia Health are partnering on an innovative collaborative care model that will provide Nova Scotians in the New Glasgow and Truro areas with another option for timely, routine, non-urgent health concerns. Known as Lawtons Drugs Pharmacist Walk-in Clinic+, pharmacists and a nurse practitioner will provide primary care at walk-in clinics above Sobeys owned Lawtons Drug pharmacies through this unique partnership.
The roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals are always evolving to better meet population health needs, and to improve timely access to care. Now, Registered Nurses (RNs) in Nova Scotia can prescribe a limited number of medications, devices and order relevant screening or diagnostic tests within their specific areas of expert nursing practice. This model has already effectively been implemented in other Canadian provinces and over twenty years ago in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.
The Speak Up for Healthcare Tour was a valuable opportunity for me to hear directly from you. I enjoyed travelling across the province to meet members of our team, tour our sites and gain valuable perspectives from those working directly with our patients and clients. I am continually learning and happy to see your good ideas keep coming in. I look forward to turning those ideas into action.
A groundbreaking surgical innovation developed in Halifax to treat shoulder instability was profiled during a live broadcast to international conference participants in mid-December.
A surgeon from Nova Scotia Health has developed a new portal that allows for the placement of bone grafts to help augment bone loss in the shoulder joint, while avoiding the complications associated with the surgical approach that is commonly used in shoulder surgeries.
The Emergency Health Services (EHS) Special Patient Program (SPP) was created to help Nova Scotians with rare conditions or complex health needs that may not be classified under paramedics’ standard care protocols.
John Dillman is thankful for many things. Topping this list are his loving and supportive family, the exceptional health care team that has rallied around them since his near-fatal heart attack and more recently, becoming the first patient to receive a life-changing heart valve procedure at the QEII Health Sciences Centre.
