Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 5

Dr. Kamea Aloha Lafontaine is a general dentist in Calgary, Alberta, and the founder of Intelli Network Corporation, a software development company. He shares his story about developing new technology to help improve health care experiences among Indigenous people. SafeSpace Helping to Democratize Health Care Reporting for Indigenous Patients I n 2013, Dr. Lafontaine, fresh out of dental school and having just purchased his first dental practice, woke up with intense abdominal pain. “My wife convinced me to go to the emergency room,” he says. “I was in excruciating pain, so it was difficult for me to advocate for myself.” At the hospital, Dr. Lafontaine experienced racial bias for the first time as an adult. “The hospital was located in a community with a large Indigenous community, and I noticed that the people providing me with care were making assumptions about me because I’m Indigenous,” he says. Dr. Lafontaine had always been treated with respect as a business owner and dentist. “But I felt like when I was in a hospital gown, I was seen as just another Indian with a problem.” When Dr. Lafontaine told hospital staff that he was a dentist, he was treated better. As well, his brother, an anesthesiologist, had trained at the hospital and knew some of the staff there, which also improved Dr. Lafontaine’s experience. “But the question that bothered me, when I reflected on the experience years later, was: How do other Indigenous patients feel? People who don’t have the advantages that I have?” SafeSpace: The App Dr. Lafontaine’s encounter led him and his brother, Dr. Alika Lafontaine—who is president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association—to create on an app called SafeSpace, designed to allow reporting of racial bias in health care in a manner that enables systemic change. “The app is a place for patients and practitioners to come together to discuss any concerns they have and improvements that need to be made in the health care system,” says Dr. Lafontaine. The app is currently being piloted in BC. For health systems to improve, feedback is necessary, but often patients don’t report harms. “We know harm is fairly common in health systems, and more common for Indigenous patients,” says Dr. Lafontaine. He explains that reporting harm is often a risky process for Indigenous patients. “What if it ruins a relationship with a provider? What if you lose access to the health care that you need?” he says. Using blockchain, SafeSpace provides users with anonymity so that they can share their experiences and concerns without fear of reprisal. The app does not collect names, email Reporting harm is often a risky process for Indigenous patients. What if it ruins a relationship with a provider? What if you lose access to the health care that you need? 22 | 2021 | Issue 5