Legal, regulatory and ethical framework for a health tech startup

More than 2 million Canadians require personal assistance at home because of age or disability, with at least 15% of them reporting having unmet needs. When needs go unmet, we know that people are unable to maintain employment because they cannot predict their schedule. We know that they experience significant stress and mental health challenges as a result of feeling like a burden on friends and family or – without that safety net – worrying like they may not be able to get out of bed the next day because no one will show up. We also know that unmet needs can spiral into more serious health complications requiring hospitalization and intensive resources on our healthcare systems when issues like pressure sores and urinary tract infections are left unchecked.

Mira4Good’s goal is to build a back up system for personal assistance in the form of a marketplace platform that connects the demand side of people in need of personal assistance with the supply side of caregivers via a mobile app, essentially an Uber for attendants called “Tendr”. Tendr’s creation will facilitate a world in which people with physical disabilities get their needs met wherever they are and whenever they want.

The purpose of this project is to map out a legal, regulatory and ethical operating framework for use by Tendr’s internal and external stakeholders.

Faculty Supervisor:

Bassem Awad

Student:

Partner:

Mira4Good Inc.

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

The University of Western Ontario