Canada’s innovation economy has the potential to expediate and strengthen the vaccination rollout across the country. Currently, many businesses remain an untapped resource, who’s services could be utilized to hasten the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines
There are simple but impactful enhancements that could be made to different regions’ rollout strategies. This change starts with a receptiveness to open collaboration between regional governments, health organizations and the businesses defining Canada’s innovation economy.
Recently BookJane, a technology platform that helps long term care and senior living facilities find, schedule and communicate with staff, has partnered with the Region of Peel – a Covid-19 hot spot in Ontario – to support the region’s vaccination program.
Our unique partnership exemplifies a model between local governments and Canadian businesses which could be executed across Canada, ultimately harnessing existing services and frameworks to strengthen the vaccine rollout.
Through this partnership, BookJane’s technology platform is being utilized to mobilize and deploy physicians and healthcare workers to clinics across the region, in order to provide vaccinations to the public in the quickest and safest manner. We’ve removed time consuming administrative work, streamlined communication with physicians, and through open collaboration with municipalities and healthcare organizations, have developed solutions to current and anticipated problems.
Our partnership highlights how critical steps and elements have been overlooked in the development of some region’s vaccination rollout strategies.
To begin, open collaboration between municipal governments, local health organizations AND Canadian businesses, builds a rollout strategy which leverages homegrown skillsets and services which can enhance healthcare organizations’ capabilities and address weak spots. Innovative, forward looking solutions are the product of open collaboration between organizations with diverse perspectives and experiences. Our partnership demonstrates how distinct organizations can come together, to share resources, tools and services to build a vaccination program which is robust, effective and agile–something which is critical in this constantly evolving landscape. The strategies and solutions put forward, must be agile and capable of evolving. The open-mindset which defines BookJane and many other start-ups—allowing for the flow of new ideas and learnings—needs to be a defining feature in these rollout strategies and present in the organizations shaping them.
Finally, during a time when the entire world is facing increasing complex problems and crisis, it’s easy to overlook how innovation and simplicity often go hand in hand. Seemingly small changes in these vaccine distribution strategies have the potential to create impactful change and contribute to their widespread access. Removing paperwork, increasing transparency and enabling the free flow of communication to promptly mobilize and inform healthcare workers of latest developments, are enhancements which are necessary to create the required momentum to overcome current and future hurdles in the vaccine rollout.
Ultimately, an embracement of the latest technology is needed to help with the fast and efficient deployment of vaccines. The desired timely and widespread access of the vaccine cannot be achieved within the existing structure: open collaboration with organizations who possesses the tools, resources and skills is needed now, while regions still have the time to develop effective strategies which will shape the Covid-19 landscape in months to come.
Curtis Khan is the CEO of BookJane.
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