Harkness Project Title: Primary Health and Chronic Illness Care: Canadians Report on Quality and Outcomes

Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Diane Watson, a 2006–07 Canadian Associate of The Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy, has a background in health policy, management and evaluation and business administration. She holds a faculty position at the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at the University of British Columbia and is a research associate of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy at the University of Manitoba. She was previously director of research and analysis at the Health Council of Canada and, prior to that, associate director of the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Watson received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and her M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario and Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden.

Project: Diane Watson worked on a project to report experiences that Canadians, particularly those with chronic health conditions, have with primary care and care for chronic illness.  This was explored through analysis of a 2007 nationally representative survey, undertaken by Statistics Canada.  Participants were selected from those who completed the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey, allowing for data linkage across the two years.

Career Activity Since Fellowship

• Chief Executive, National Health Performance Authority, Sydney, Australia, 2012
• CEO, Bureau of Health Information, New South Wales, Australia, 2009

Current Position: Chief Executive, National Health Performance Authority (Updated June 2012)

E-mail: diane.watson@nhpa.gov.au

Harkness-Related Publications

Morgan S, Kennedy J, Boothe K, McMahon M, Watson DE, Roughead E. (2009). Toward an understanding of high performance pharmaceutical policy systems: a ‘triple-A’ framework and example analysis. Open Health Services and Policy Journal.

Khan S, McIntosh C. Sanmartin C, Watson D, Leeb K. (2008). Working paper series: Primary health care teams and their impact on processes and outcomes of care. Statistics Canada. Ottawa, ON.

Watson DE. (2008). Performance Measurement and Quality Improvement in Primary Health Care: Lessons for Canada from the Australian Experience. Health Canada. Ottawa, ON.

Broemeling AM, Watson DE, Prebtani F. "Population patterns of chronic health conditions, co-morbidity and health care use in Canada: Implications for policy and practice." Healthcare Quarterly 2008; 11:70-75.

Fixing the Foundation: An Update on Primary Health Care and Home Care Renewal in Canada. Toronto: Health Council Canada. (2008)

 “Canadian Survey of Experiences with Primary Health Care: A Data Supplement to Fixing the Foundation: An Update on Primary Health Care and Home Care Renewal in Canada.” Toronto: Health Council of Canada. (2008).

Why Health Care Renewal Matters: Learning from Canadians with Chronic Health Conditions. Toronto: Health Council of Canada. (2007).

Canadians’ Experiences with Chronic Illness Care in 2007: A Data Supplement to Why Health Care Renewal Matters: Learning from Canadians with Chronic Health Conditions. Toronto: Health Council of Canada. (2007).

Population Patterns of Chronic Health Conditions in Canada: A Data Supplement to Why Health Care Renewal Matters: Learning from Canadians with Chronic Health Conditions. Toronto: Health Council of Canada. (2007).