Blurring the Line Between Patient Supports and Health Resources

Throughout the past decade, Canadian advocates, not-for-profits and new companies have realized incredible advancements in the supports that they are able to provide to patients. But are Canadian patients and their families aware of these supports? The very supports that were specifically designed to solve their needs? Probably not. Most patients have no idea what types of supports they can access. When patient's and their families are in the midst of a life-threatening medical emergency, they are immediately focused on surviving the present moment. They simply don't have the time to prepare for what's next. This means more patients are heading right back into hospital emergency rooms after a discharge, or suffering worse outcomes because they are unaware of supports that might alleviate some of their socioeconomic barriers to better health. But who can blame the patient for not accessing the resources that could support the further deterioration of their health? Our doctors, pharmacists, and even our hospital social workers don't have enough time to research the right links to support patients. At best, they can provide a generic list of possible resources, which often lead to frustrating conversations because the patients lives outside the zone of care, or doesn't meet the age criteria. Canada still does not have an user-centric platform to link patients to healthcare support services in their community...yet.

My team of caregivers with lived experience is working on solving this problem by developing an app to efficiently link patients to the care supports closest to them. We're on a search to make discharge experiences easier for patients and their families.

My story: April 21st, 2019 my brother started surgery for his third double lung transplant. Everything was so hectic that I didn't have time to process much. I was in full-blown survival mode. Three weeks after the start of his transplant, I looked at my bank account and saw that I only had $673.67- not nearly enough to pay for my family's next month of rent. I had been covering my family's living accommodation, gas, food, laundry and general living expenses while my parents were in Toronto and assuming the role of full-time caregivers to my brother. The extreme stress, the anxiety of a life-or-death matter, and the lack of sleep led me into a full-blown panic. I had experienced homelessness twice before and there was no way I was about to risk my family being evicted for being unable to pay rent. I picked up the phone and called every organization I could think of... after pouring through Google searches, sending 40+ e-mails, and calling or leaving voicemails for 20+ charities. At the end of my "I'm searching for support" rampage, I was left feeling utterly discouraged and unsupported. Why wasn't there an easier way to find out where my family could gain support? Why did I have to hear twenty statements similar to "I'm so sorry to hear about your circumstances, but there's nothing we can do to help you." or "Your family just doesn't match our criteria. If your brother was under 18, then yes, we could have supported your family." My frustrations only grew stronger... When my brother was under the age of 18, no one told us about the accommodations and supports he could have accessed. Why were we only finding this out now? Thankfully, within a week, some of my plea's for support were heard by the right people. The day my family received support, was the same day I vowed to solve this blatantly obvious problem: that our patients, our physicians, our pharmacists, and our social workers deserve a platform that makes searching for supports easier.