On Friday, April 16th, the OLIP interns had the chance to talk with representatives from one of the Programme’s newest sponsors, Santis Health. Santis focuses its consulting portfolio exclusively on healthcare issues in Ontario and across Canada. This made them an excellent choice to speak with given the effects of COVID-19.
The ongoing pandemic provided a unique context for the interns to ask specific questions about how healthcare advocacy works and how stakeholders in the healthcare sector are being affected by this unprecedented healthcare crisis. The meeting also gave the interns a chance to ask experts in the field of healthcare what they thought the biggest issues facing Ontario’s medical systems would be in the future and what direction they would like to see healthcare policy move towards.
The conversation included topics such as the digitization of healthcare records, how to create a space for the domestic production of medical supplies, and how the healthcare sector will be changed by the pandemic. As many of the interns have been at least partially focused on healthcare issues in their Members’ offices, the meeting with Santis was an opportunity to examine the issues within the healthcare sector more comprehensively.
The interns left the meeting with new insights into a sector that is relevant to so many Ontarians right now. OLIP is grateful to Santis for taking the time to talk to the interns. They look forward to speaking further with representatives of the company to learn more about priority issues in healthcare as they emerge.