Ultimate Blogging Championship

Category: Uncategorized

  • Bariatric Surgery #1: Introduction

    As part of a 3-part series, this webinar reviews the key components of bariatric surgery. Participants will have a better understanding of the process pre-operatively, post-operatively and the nutrition-related requirements for patients. This webinar includes resources and case studies for participants to implement into practice as well as set the stage for the following two webinars that will provide more advanced bariatric nutrition topics. Presented by Jennifer Brown, MSc, RD from The Ottawa Hospital Weight Management Clinic and Bariatric Surgery Program. This free webinar was presented in an unique collaboration between the Association of Family Health Teams (AFHTO) + Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiology (DOC) Network + FHT RD Network of Ontario. Resources and materials from the session:

    Don’t miss out on the next two webinars! Register today:

  • AFHTO releases two statements: care coordination/population-based primary care

    December 7, 2015 – Today the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario released two new statements as part of members’ ongoing work to improve access and integration of care in a sustainable health system. These two statements respond to and build on recent reports:

    Related statements include:

    Family Health Teams (FHTs) and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics (NPLCs) have the leadership, dedication and willingness to step up to play their part in building a primary care system that understands and meets the needs of our patients and communities. Throughout the transformation process, they want to be heard, valued, and supported to succeed – above all else, with sufficient funding to stabilize the workforce and ensure sufficient capacity to deliver quality care. Furthermore, AFHTO members call upon the Ministry to begin the process of transitioning care coordination resources from CCACs to primary care teams.  The Ministry must work with primary care teams, LHINs, hospitals and other stakeholders to transfer all functions currently carried out by CCACs to the most appropriate bodies, to achieve greater efficiency and integration in care delivery. Population-based primary care and integrated care coordination are predicated on the availability of and access to primary care teams – currently limited to about one in four Ontarians. To spread access, AFHTO recommends the Ministry continue and strengthen its support for the field to:

    • Develop common understanding and measurement of population needs and team capacity.
    • Harness the will and expertise of local champions to spread team capacity in their communities, recognizing that different strategies and solutions will emerge to meet unique local realities.
    • Expand access where:
      • Capacity is sufficiently developed to manage additional demand without decreasing quality of care, and
      • Physicians are ready to commit to minimum requirements for meaningful collaboration and communication with the team.

    Advances by AFHTO members to measure results, through the Starfield Principles, are guiding the way to understand and assure progress toward government’s priorities of access, quality, and system sustainability. AFHTO policy positions can be accessed here. We look forward to working with the Ministry, LHINs, patients, communities, and health system colleagues to improve health and health care.

  • Primary care teams in a population-based health system

    Population-based primary care is about effective management of the health of defined groups of people. It ensures all within this group are attached to a regular primary care provider and can access the appropriate care when they need it. The province’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care convened an Expert Advisory Committee to recommend how to ensure access to appropriate care for all Ontarians. Their report Patient Care Groups: A new model of population based primary health care for Ontario, was released on October 15, 2015. Two hundred leaders from AFHTO-member organizations convened shortly thereafter to look into the role for primary care teams in a population-based health system. This included examination of the functions that would need to be further developed and strengthened in such a system. The key messages from this session:

    • Family Health Teams (FHTs) and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics (NPLCs) have the leadership, dedication and a fundamental commitment to the well-being of their patients. They are willing to:
      • Step up to play their part in building a primary care system that understands and meets the needs of our patients and communities.
      • Stand up and be counted – using measurement to demonstrate their value and improve on it.
      • Build on the relationships they have been developing with other teams, other providers, and their LHINs.

    Click to read AFHTO’s response to the Expert Advisory Committee’s recommendations.

  • Data to Decisions eBulletin #24: D2D 3.0 submission opens today! Plus, find out how to get data for “time spent delivering care”

    Start submitting D2D 3.0 data until January 15, 2016. Click here or contact Greg Mitchell for resources.

    Increase AFHTO’s ability to inform decisions about teams’ capacity: work with your lead clinician (using these notes on page 7) to get better data about the time your team spends delivering primary care. Quality Roll-up Indicator: The Movie! Check out the videos that explain what it is and why AFHTO is doing it, how it is calculated, what it means to your team and a national perspective from Dr. Danielle Martin. Need more D2D friends to share the work? Invite others to sign up for the e-Bulletin online to expand your D2D work team. Getting too many emails? Scroll to the bottom of the original email for the unsubscribe link. members

  • D2D 3.0 Data Submission – Instructional Webinar Recording

    Updated February 1, 2016 This recorded webinar will guide you through the data-submission process for D2D 3.0. It is an orientation to the platform, with a walkthrough illustrating how to submit your data as well as an introduction to the D2D 3.0 Data Dictionary and Toolkit.

    This webinar was held twice on December 2, 2015 for AFHTO members.  

  • D2D 3.0 Data Submission – Instructional Webinar Recording

    Updated February 1, 2016 This recorded webinar will guide you through the data-submission process for D2D 3.0. It is an orientation to the platform, with a walkthrough illustrating how to submit your data as well as an introduction to the D2D 3.0 Data Dictionary and Toolkit.

    This webinar was held twice on December 2, 2015 for AFHTO members.  

  • Member News: relevant updates, resources, information and learning opportunities

    Below are relevant updates and items for AFHTO members, including free training and funding opportunities:

    Updates Relevant to Primary Care

    Clinical Resources
    • New provincial clinical tool on poverty and others: developed by the Centre for Effective Practice, as part of their Knowledge in Primary Care Initiative with the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO)

     

    Information to share with Patients
    •  The Caring Experience: The Change Foundation and the Ontario Caregiver Coalition want to hear from family caregivers. Financial support for transportation, childcare, etc. is available.

    Events and Learning Opportunities

     

     

  • Undervalued: The revolving door of dietitians

    Sudbury Northern Life article published on November 30, 2015. Article pasted in full below Jonathan Migneault – Sudbury Northern Life

    Lower salaries to blame, says Dietitians of Canada

    Sudbury’s City of Lakes Family Health Team has had three registered dietitians since 2008, due to a high turnover rate.“We joke that primary care just has a revolving door,” said Ashley Hurley, the family health team’s current registered dietitian. According to a new report from Dietitians of Canada, the situation in Sudbury is not uncommon for primary care dietitians in Ontario. A survey of dietitians across the province found that only 16 per cent of primary care dietitians, like Hurley, have been in their current positions for more than five years. The report found that 35 per cent of primary health care dietitians plan to leave their current position within the next two years, and an additional 49 per cent report they are undecided whether they will leave. The reason for the high turnover rate across Ontario, said Hurley, is that many registered dietitians in her field feel undervalued, because they do not earn as much as other professionals in primary care who have similar levels of education. Registered dietitians who work in family health teams make between $51,641 and $62,219 a year. Registered nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, respiratory therapists and chiropodists, who work in the same teams, make between $55,251 and $66,568 a year. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care funds and determines the salary ranges, which were first set in 2005, and adjusted in 2009, when all family health team professionals received a 2.25 per cent salary increase. But Angie Heydon, CEO of the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario, said even at the high end, those ranges are below the rates health care professionals make in other sectors, such as hospitals. “As a result, there is high staff turnover as professionals leave these primary care positions to work in more lucrative settings,” she said. Those settings include hospitals, public health and the Community Care Access Networks. Dietitians of Canada argue the lower salaries for registered dietitians in the field date back an error in the salary structure that has not been corrected since 2005. “We’re a relatively small group, and it’s always the squeaky wheel that gets the grease,” said Hurley. Leslie Whittington-Carter, Dietitians of Canada’s co-ordinator of Ontario government relations, said correcting the job classification would help address the high turnover rate in primary care. Registered dietitians need a at least a four-year bachelor degree, a one-year internship, and to complete a national exam to perform their duties. Thirty-four per cent of dietitians working in primary care have a master’s degree, and 54 per cent specialize in diabetes education. Hurley said registered dietitians play a vital role in managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. They also play an important role in early child development, through proper nutrition, and healthy aging. “With seniors, for example, if we can keep them well nourished as they age, it can lead to fewer hospitalizations, shorter stays, fewer readmissions,” she said.
     

  • QI Simplified: Stroke Prevention by Thrombosis Canada

    Thrombosis Canada has created a quality improvement program for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. This QIP is fully integrated into EMR and provides point of care solutions based on the Thrombosis Canada clinical guides and tools.  Participants of the Thrombosis Canada QIP are eligible for up to 6 Main Pro C credits. This initiative is also harmonized with the recent mandate from the MOHLTC for all Family Heath Teams, Community Health Clinics and other models to initiate QIPs. All project elements will be supported by Thrombosis Canada. This program has been piloted and will now be offered to 10 additional sites in 2016 by way of an application process. To learn more about this collaborative and facilitated quality improvement program focused on stroke prevention, please visit www.thrombosiscanada.ca. Each year approximately 50,000 Canadians suffer a stroke, which is one every 10 minutes. Of these, two will recover, six will suffer permanent disability and two will die. Strokes are the leading cause of disability, and the third leading cause of death in Canada. They cost the Canadian economy at least $2.7 billion dollars annually.

  • D2D 3.0 Data Submission

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