Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 5

addresses or any other identifying information. Indeed, after a report is submitted, it’s reviewed to ensure that it’s anonymous. Both patients and health care providers are anonymous in the app. “It’s not like those rating websites that tarnish the reputations of specific people,” says Dr. Lafontaine. “What we’ve found in our pilot program in BC is that 20% of reports come from within the health care system. Doctors, nurses, administrators, and other health care workers felt that they couldn’t speak up and wanted to use this app as well.” Dr. Lafontaine suggests that protecting and empowering all stakeholders in a situation is the best way to work toward positive change. “You don’t need to know the name of a doctor or the name of patient to improve a system,” he says. He points out that removing one person from a workplace doesn’t fix systemic racism. Rather, the goal is to help create learning health systems, which are able to do more than just react to negative experiences and health care harm. “An effective learning health system can prevent them from happening in the first place,” Dr. Lafontaine says. User Experience for the App In the event that an Indigenous patient risks all and makes a formal complaint about a harmful medical experience, there often isn’t much information that comes back to the patient. If an investigation does move forward, it’s rare to get any updates or progress reports in real-time. When decisions are made in favour or against a complaint, patients aren’t told who made the decision. This process can be isolating. SafeSpace gives people more access to information about the health care facilities that they use. “Imagine being a patient for a moment,” says Dr. Lafontaine. “You’ve had a harmful experience and you report it on the app. Right away, you are given some data. For example, maybe five other people have had similar experiences at the same facility. When we can see trends and patterns, then we can address them,” he says. Through SafeSpace, patients and health care practitioners can validate patterns. “We use validated patterns to help Indigenous patients make more informed choices on how to access care and to help health systems make better decisions about health system design,” says Dr. Lafontaine. To watch the full conversation with Dr. Lafontaine, visit CDA Oasis at: bit.ly/2UHgROD Dr. Lafontaine suggests that protecting and empowering all stakeholders in a situation is thebestway towork toward positive change. A Dentist and a Software Designer? Dr. Lafontaine feels that the dental profession offers flexibility that allows dentists to pursue more than one passion. He works part- time at his dental practice and spends other days working at his tech company. “Some people love to golf, other people collect classic cars,” he says. “My brother and I have a passion for creating technologies that can help solve real-world problems.” With SafeSpace, Dr. Lafontaine hopes to democratize reporting. “Real problems happen downstream when there is a monopoly on the truth, when only one story about what happened is told,” he says. “I think, as a society, we are learning that a plurality of voices, and the technology that makes them possible, can be tools for justice.” (L. to r.) Dr. Kamea Aloha Lafontaine with his brother Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association. 23 Issue 5 | 2021 | Issues and People