Update on Bill 5: New Tools Available for Health Institutions
As part of its government mandate to optimize the clinical research environment in Quebec, CATALIS supports provincial efforts that focus on the implementation of the Bill 5 on health and social services information (AHSSI or Bill 5) . Its objective is to facilitate effective access to health information for research purposes to accelerate the development of innovative treatments for the well-being of Quebec patients.
The CATALIS Network’s Recommendations Following a Consultative Approach
In March 2024, CATALIS carried out consultations with health and social services institutions (HSSIs) to better understand the issues related to access to health information (HI) for research under Bill 25. Following these consultations, we submitted a report with recommendations and an action plan to the government with the aim of optimising access to HI under the AHSSI, while ensuring continuous improvement of processes based on automated provincial performance indicators.
Flow charts were also created to map the various paths of access requests according to the type of researcher. Province-wide shared tools, such as templates for Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) forms, PIA Reports, and Health Information Access Agreements, have been developed by a working group of the health and social services network (HSSN) to facilitate this approach to accessing health information.
For more information on the activities of the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the CATALIS Network’s members on the operationalization of Bill 5, please visit our Access to Health Information page.
The Network’s Continued Involvement Through New Advisory Committees
To ensure the successful implementation of the ARHSSI, two new advisory committees have been created to strengthen the involvement and mobilization of the CATALIS Network’s public-private experts.
The mandate of the HSSN Data Advisory Committee, which includes more than twenty-three health institutions that are members of the CATALIS Network, is to identify provincial issues related to accessing health information in the HSSN, to develop shared provincial processes and tools to facilitate clinical research in Quebec.
The Private Sector Data Advisory Committee is made up of CATALIS’ private sector industrial members. This committee shares the same mandate as the HSSN committee: to identify provincial issues related to accessing health information for private researchers and share global best practices to facilitate the development of solutions aimed at optimizing Quebec’s access processes.
The CATALIS Network’s public and private members are committed to promoting an effective and innovative clinical research environment, including through optimized and monitored access to provincial health information, for the well-being of Quebec patients.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact our team at: info@catalisquebec.com.
