1. Provincial Respiratory Outreach Program in the Province of British Columbia, Canada
Submitted by
Name: Esther Khor, Manager of Respiratory Therapy
Affiliation: BC Association for Individualized Technology and Supports for People with Disabilities
National association (if exists):
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
address for contact:

2. Country Estimates in Brief
Population
4.7 million in BC
(36 million in Canada)
Population Growth Rate
about 1 %
Life Expectancy at Birth
82 (born in 2012)
Infant Mortality Rate
4.8/1000 (2011)
Number of Health Centers in Country
Total Expenditure on Health as % of GDP
10.9%
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3. Country's Health Technology Program Key Success Story
The BC Association for Individualized Technology and Supports for People with Disabilities (BCITS, a non-profit organization) runs a home ventilation program - the Provincial Respiratory Outreach Program (PROP)
PROP allows individuals depending on respiratory support to live independently in the community.
It provides total technology management to its clients including medical care, training, equipment, supplies, and maintenance.
January 2016
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4. Country's Health Technology Program Key Success Story
Users of the program have various diagnoses such as spinal cord injuries, post-polio, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neuromuscular diseases.
PROP is a successful “client-directed” health care model with respiratory therapists providing education for the users and their care givers. Users (or their care givers) are responsible for replacing, cleaning and ordering their respiratory supplies. Mechanical ventilators, BiPAPs and suction units are part of the equipment pool. These are maintained and supported by biomedical engineering staff.
January 2016
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5. Country's Health Technology Program Key Success Story
All these factors contribute to running PROP effective and lean. PROP allocates C$2,500 (C$1 = US$0.75) for each tracheostomy user per year. This cost is low compared to similar patients in facilities and hospitals. Including capital equipment replacement, the PROP program costs approximately C$3.5 million a year; on average about C$6,400 per patient per year. A single hospital patient-day can easily cost over a thousand dollars in BC, Canada.
January 2016
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6. Country's Health Technology Program Next Steps for Success Story
A funding formula based on the number of clients was established in 2014 with all health authorities in the province of British Columbia. The number of PROP clients is growing at a rate of about 20% per year.
BCITS is looking at expanding PROP’s services to more patients who are not meeting the current medical inclusion criteria.
January 2016
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7. Conclusions and Action Plan
Gone are the days of “institutional care”, where people with disabilities are given little choice in their lifestyle. PROP successfully keeps over 500 people with disabilities out of acute care institutions allowing them to live independently in the community with better quality of life, and at a small fraction of conventional institutional cost.
The success of PROP is an excellent example of systematic technology management embracing users, healthcare providers, and biomedical engineering.
January 2016
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