Giving patients a voice: New website lets Albertans share healthcare experiences

A new website has launched in Alberta with the hopes of expanding transparency in the healthcare system and fostering dialogue between patients and healthcare providers.Care Opinion Canada is a platform that allows patients to anonymously write about their experiences with clinics and hospitals across the province. The moderators of the platform also share these comments to the healthcare providers (either directly if the clinic is a member of the platform or by email if not) and gives them an opportunity to respond.In one of the featured stories on Care Opinion Canada’s homepage, one patient recalled out she was in critical condition after giving birth and thanked Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary for saving her life.“My ob/gyn team, Resident Shannon Fitzpatrick, Resident Rebecca Carrigan, MD Matt Grossi (and I know I’m missing one and I’m so sorry I missed writing it)— love you and thank you for hands down saving my life. I know I was so sick. I know that surgery was bad, I was in bad condition. But thank you for saving me. Thank you for saving my daughter’s mom,” she wrote.“Thank you for taking the time to share your story and your appreciation for our outstanding care team,” Dr. Misty Watson, the hospital’s medical director wrote in her response. “The staff, physicians and volunteers at Rockyview are truly exceptional people who are genuinely dedicated to the art of caring and the science of medicine. We will be sure to share your kind words with all the teams you have identified, and we wish you a quick and complete recovery!”Not all stories on the platform are positive. In another post on the platform, one user wrote about they had to repeatedly bring their father with into Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary multiple times while being told conflicting information. The user’s father ultimately died in the days following the visits.“Father was sent home on 23 December 2024 with only pain killers because doctors could not see anything on CT scan. Then we get a call suggesting a blood clot, and again back to the hospital on 24 December 2024. Another day of wait only to be prescribed blood thinners. This prescription was found to have caused the brain bleed on Christmas Day, and ultimately stroke and seizure on 26th December morning where we called ambulance. A third doctor suggested that the blood thinners should not have been prescribed,” the user wrote.The platform in Canada is run by Imagine Citizens Network, an Alberta-based civic organization that aims to “bring citizen voices into the healthcare system to drive transformation.” Similar Care Opinion websites have also been launched in the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.

Giving patients a voice: New website lets Albertans share healthcare experiences

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