PREMIERS ENDORSE A REPORT AT THE COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION – A health care innovation group Co-chaired by Premiers Brad Wall and Robert Ghiz was established by the Council of the Federation in January 2012 and presented their report to the Council on July 26^th as reported by the National Post. The report made recommendations that require voluntary acceptance by the provinces once they have an opportunity to review and determine how the recommendations can be implemented in a particular province. “The report contains 12 recommendations on how provinces and territories can deliver better care, save dollars and find more value in the $130-billion health-care system.” A major recommendation is for provinces to agree on a bulk buying mechanism for 3 – 5 generic drugs. “Other voluntary measures recommended by the report include: adopting common treatment guidelines for heart disease and diabetes (including harmonized guidelines for prevention and screening); sharing information to help trim labour costs and reduce competition in hiring health professionals such as doctors and nurses; and implementing team-based care to prevent patients from jumping from one provider to another.” See the report at: http://www.councilofthefederation.ca/pdfs/Health%20Innovation%20Report-E-WEB.pdf