Bits & Pieces: FHTs receive funding for AI-powered brain health program and more

Your Weekly News & Updates

Four FHTs & partners receive funding for AI-powered brain health program

Upper Grand FHT, Two Rivers FHT, Mount Forest FHT, and the Centre for Family Medicine FHT are part of a health innovation team that has received funding through Ontario’s Health Technologies Fund to pilot a brain health assessment and risk management program powered by predictive analytics and artificial intelligence.

Learn more here.

In this Issue

Four FHTs & partners receive funding for AI-powered brain health program

Pediatric mental health screening tool pilot

Don’t forget to submit data for D2D 5.1 by Feb. 8

Get an Opioid Prescribing Snapshot

Study shows fewer Ontario physicians may be providing comprehensive care than thought

Your input needed – naming of biologic drugs, quality standards and prescribing drugs policy

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care & related news including OHIP+ slides

Upcoming webinars and events on how to become a high performing team, health equity and more

Pediatric mental health screening tool pilot

Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health and Dr. Mario Cappelli are working on an applied research pilot project using HEADS-ED. It’s a brief mental health screening tool designed to help clinicians and intake workers obtain a psychosocial history to support decision-making regarding next steps in patient care. Informational webinars are being held Jan. 26, Feb. 7 and Feb. 16. Learn more here.

The submission platform for D2D 5.1 will close on February 8, 2018. Use this opportunity to review your own data and compare it to data from your peers. Continuous measurement is key to tracking your progress to show improvement over time. If you have any questions, please contact Greg Mitchell.

Get an Opioid Prescribing Snapshot

A new CPSO Dialogue article delves into the welcome addition of opioid prescribing patterns to Health Quality Ontario’s MyPractice reports, developed in partnership with AFHTO and other organizations. Read more here.

Study shows fewer Ontario physicians may be providing comprehensive care than thought

Supply of Ontario physicians providing comprehensive care lower than thought (infographic)

An Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) study published in CMAJ Open on Dec. 19, 2017 has found “just over two-thirds of primary care physicians provided comprehensive care in 2014/15, which indicates that traditional estimates of the primary care physician workforce may be too high.” Read more here.

Your input needed – naming of biologic drugs, quality standards and prescribing drugs policy

Consultation on the Naming of Biologic Drugs – Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada is inviting your input on the naming of biologic drugs, including biosimilars, in Canada. Your responses will help inform the development of Health Canada’s naming policy to distinguish among biologic drugs that share the same non-proprietary name. Deadline Feb. 9, 2018.

Join a Quality Standards Advisory Committee to address care for people with an anxiety disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder– HQO is currently seeking volunteers. Deadline to apply is Jan. 30, 2018.

Prescribing Drugs Policy Review – The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is currently reviewing the Prescribing Drugs policy and would like physicians’ feedback. Deadline is Feb. 2, 2018.

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care & related news

OHIP+ Webinar slides- held by the Ministry on Jan. 18, the slide deck is now available. It includes a list of drugs with low EAP approval rates.

Situation report on opioid crisis: situation report #15 now available.

Better outcomes, lower costs: how do some teams do it? Jan. 25, 2018

Learn what you can do to help your team become a high-performing team. The webinar will highlight research showing how employee engagement and team climate can have an impact on productivity, retention, morale, patient experience and overall team performance. Register here.

Health Equity: Supporting People Living with Multiple Chronic and Complex Conditions to Reach their Full Potential, Jan. 24, 2018

Health Links Community of Practice webinar moderated by HQO, including a presentation by Suzanne Trivers, ED of Mount Forest FHT. Find out more here.

Lunch and learn webinar on ECHO Ontario Chronic Pain/Opioids, Jan. 30, 2018

ECHO (Extensions for Healthcare Outcomes) is a model of education and care management that empowers primary care providers to better care for more people within their own communities. It links primary care providers from across the province with each other and with a specialist team during weekly videoconference sessions. Register here. To learn more visit AFHTO’s site.

MSK Education: Joint Assessment Made Easy, Jan. 29, 2018

Hands-on comprehensive Group Learning program by OCFP in Toronto to bring physicians’ diagnostic skills to the current state of practice. Assessments covered include shoulder, back, hip, knee and ankle. Learn more here.