Social Prescribing as a Catalyst for System Transformation.

Rising social, health and healthcare challenges in Canada signal a need for a paradigm shift. This issue centres on the case for social prescribing - connecting patients to community resources via "link workers" - as strategic infrastructure for improved population health. The papers in this issue lay out a vision for the future, building on this social prescribing model, and offer implementation lessons, such as prioritizing high-complexity clients and maintaining an equity focus. They also raise some important cautions, such as the need to maintain a strong welfare state, to avoid narrow National Health Service-style implementation and emphasize the need to ensure that community organizations are partners, not just referral endpoints.