Category: Uncategorized

  • D2D 2.0 Data Elements

    Data elements 1)      Data from patient experience surveys: Teams which already have questions on the following topics in their questionnaires may be able to contribute data for these elements.  Teams which have not yet included these questions may consider including them in future patient experience surveys so they can contribute data to later iterations of D2D.  The decision regarding acceptable wording was based on whatever wording was used most commonly among AFHTO members, based on a recent review of approximately 30 questionnaires in use by AFHTO members.  Since then, the HQO Patient Experience Survey has generated a set of ‘standard questions’ for these and other topics.  The suggestions from that survey are included with the common AFHTO wording in the data dictionary.     a)      Patient involved in care b)      Courtesy of office staff c)       Wait for appointment was reasonable d)      Patient was able to access an appointment on the same or next day 2)      Data from ICES: Teams can access team-level data for the following elements from ICES by submitting their request to AFHTO as outlined in the request form below.  As noted above, teams that wish to access their ICES data directly without going through AFHTO may do so via the HQO portal , with the collaboration of one or more of their physicians.  For the most part, these indicators require information from other providers and institutions, not just data from the teams themselves.  See data dictionary  for technical definitions of each indicator. a)      Readmission to hospital: % of patients with specific conditions readmitted to hospital within 30 days of discharge. b)      regular care provider: % of patients who visited the same doctor, assuming they visited a doctor at least 3 times in the time period.  An additional version of this indicator will also be provided specifically for D2D by ICES that tracks the % of patients who visited the same team.  The team-based variant of this indicator will only be available to teams requesting data from ICES via the request form below (ie not via the HQO portal). c)       health system cost: Average of the total health system cost for all patients of the team (rostered and virtually rostered).  Breakdowns of the total cost according to primary care related costs, services, care in other settings and institutional care will also be provided.   Prior to Dec 2015, data for this indicator will only be available to teams requesting data from ICES via the request form below (ie not via the HQO portal). d)      Cervical and colorectal cancer screening rates: % of eligible patients receiving appropriate screening tests, according to the definitions in CCO’s SAR reports.   3)      Data from EMR: These items are grouped together because they are accessed from the EMR. a)      childhood immunization: The % of eligible 2 year old patients immunized, using standard queries developed by and shared among QIDSS, based on the definition in the data dictionary.  Teams not participating in QIDSS partnerships or otherwise not able to access the QIDSS Communities of Practice online forums (ie Trello) can access copies of the standardized EMR queries from Marg Leyland. b)      Cervical and colorectal cancer screening rates: The % of eligible patients screened for cervical and colorectal cancer, based on the definitions in CCO’s Screening Activity Reports (SAR).  While this appears to be a duplicate of similar data from ICES (above), it is intended for the purposes of populating a “data quality” indicator, not reporting on progress with cancer screening. 4)      Data for the “developmental” indicator: 7-day follow-up after hospitalization is included as a “developmental” indicator.  To that end, data may come from a variety of sources as noted below. a)      team-specific follow-up after hospitalization: The % of eligible patients followed up in the an appropriate manner within 7 days of discharge from hospital.  The data are intended to be accompanied by a description of exactly how the team has defined eligibility and appropriateness.   The rates of follow-up are not expected nor intended to be comparable between teams.  The intent instead is to illustrate the various approaches used by teams to support the generation of consensus and momentum towards a more consistent, manageable and meaningful definition of this indicator for subsequent iterations of D2D. b)      MOHLTC-defined follow-up after hospitalization: The % of eligible patients followed up by a billable office visit to a family physician within 7 days of discharge from hospital.  The data are intended to be extracted from materials made available to teams on the Health Data Branch portal.  This measure is included for the purposes of comparing/contrasting the relative performance, timeliness and usefulness of this indicator relative to the team-specific suggestions (above). 5)      Team description: These items form the basis for choosing peers for comparison purposes. a)      teaching status: Teams self-describe themselves as “academic” (based on participation in a formal agreement with and designation by a medical school), “teaching” (a self-described status reflecting whether the team hosts a variety of clinical trainees) and “non-teaching” (for teams who may host non-clinical, undergraduate and/or high-school students) b)      rurality: Self-described rurality of the team. c)       patients served: The total number of patients served by the team as well as a separate total of the number of patients rostered by the team.  This is intended to increase awareness of the extent to which teams are already serving non-rostered patient populations (as appears to be the emerging direction from MOHLTC) as well as help teams choose peers with similar workloads for comparison purposes.   6)      Login credentials: These items establish the identity of the team and confirm how the team wishes to have their data represented in the final report. a)      Team code:  The same 8-digit code used in the sign-up process. b)      Anonymity request:  Teams that do not ever want their identity released to any other team can indicate that on their data submission. c)       Participation in roll-up quality indicator: Teams that do not want their data included in the roll-up quality indicator can indicate that on their data submission.  Inclusion in the roll-up indicator is possible for all teams, regardless of how much data they submit.  However, the roll-up indicator may not be as meaningful for teams with less complete data.   7)      Expanded data submission (for roll-up quality indicator): Teams interested in contributing additional data for inclusion in the roll-up quality indicator have the option of submitting data for the following items from the respective sources below. a)      ICES data elements: All teams that request ICES data via the form below will receive data for the D2D 2.0 indicators as well the additional indicators listed below. i)        Ambulatory Care Sensitive Hospitalizations ii)       Mammograms iii)     ED visits iv)     % of diabetics with management or assessment codes (Q040 or K030, respectively) b)      EMR data elements: Some teams may be able to extract data for some or all of the following indicators from their EMRs.  Those that are able to do so are invited to submit these data for inclusion in the roll-up quality indicator.  These data elements will be added to the data dictionary, pending further clarification of definitions. i)        % of patients screened for hypertension, diabetes and smoking ii)       % of smokers counseled in last year iii)     A review within the past year for all patients on the following registries: Hypertension, Stroke / TIA, CHF, Depression, ASHD, Bipolar Affect Disease, Schizophrenia, Asthma, COPD, Epilepsy, Hypothyroidism iv)     % of patients with reconciliation of diagnosis list in the last year v)      % of patients with reconciliation of medication list in the last year vi)     % of patients with hypertension with systolic pressure =<150 in last year vii)   % of patients on Coumadin with INR level at 2-3 in last 6 months viii)  ChartStar Record on admission in 24 Hrs. ix)     % of patients admitted to an acute care hospital with Chart Communication x)      % of patients with flu immunization c)       Patient experience survey elements: Some teams may already have these questions in their patient experience survey.  Those that do are invited to submit these data for inclusion in the roll-up quality indicator. i)        Do you have confidence in your doctor? ii)       How confident are you that your doctor will look after you no matter what happens with your health? iii)     Do you feel that the practice can be described as your medical home? iv)     Did your doctor really find out what your concerns were? v)      Chance to ask questions vi)     Did your doctor let you say what you thought was important? vii)   Did your doctor help you feel confident about your ability to take care of your health? viii)  Did your doctor take your health concerns very seriously? ix)     Enough Time Spent? x)      How comfortable do you feel talking with your doctor about personal problems related to your health condition? xi)     Was your doctor concerned about your feelings? xii)   How much importance did your doctor give to your ideas about your care? d)      Office info i)        % of Palliative and LTC Pts. with coverage 24/7 ii)       Access bonus

  • Governance for Quality workshop: CME accreditation confirmed & Room discounts extended

    Don’t forget to register! The Governance for Quality in Primary Care workshops are now accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 5 Mainpro-M1 credits. This FREE full day workshop is intended for board members, executive directors and lead clinicians of AFHTO member organizations. Click below to register and confirm your hotel before it’s too late:

           a. Book a hotel room, or contact the Reservation’s Centre: 1-888-627-7092.  Guest room booking                 deadline extended to March 18, 2015.

            a. Book a hotel room. Guest room registration deadline extended to March 20, 2015.

    Primary care boards and leaders must have the means to track performance, quality of care and value delivered, take action when needed, and meet the expectations of those to whom the organization is accountable. Take the time now to attend this governance education opportunity available free for you as an AFHTO member. Reminder: Material and recordings from our popular “Governance Webinars” series are posted online. All three webinars have been posted along with slide decks and Q&As.

  • FAQ for the Patient Contact Management Project

    1)      Who is the service provider? Cliniconex was selected as the provider by a small review committee of AFHTO members, following a formal Request for Quote process. 2)      What is the cost for AFHTO members? There is no fee for implementation and the first year of service or 500 transactions. If teams are interested in continuing the service beyond that, they may negotiate usage fees with the service provider (about $.75 or less per patient contact, depending on volume). 3)      Are all AFHTO members eligible for participation in the project?    All AFHTO members are eligible to participate.  Pilot members will be selected based on their EMR system and readiness to participate in March 2015. Please note, this patient contact management system is currently integrated with Telus PS, Accuro, OSCAR, AbelMed, YMS, Med Access, and GlobeMed. Nightingale is not a part of this pilot project; they have a pre-existing patient contact system that is integrated into their EMR. 4)     What is required from the team?

    • Teams formally commit by signing a service agreement with Cliniconex. ED and medical lead signature will be required.
    • Teams commit to having Cliniconex access their EMR server remotely for installation of the software tool that will automatically generate a list of patients and initiate contact by email or voice, according to a standard set of criteria to be used by all teams.
    • Teams allocate their IT staff, QIDSS, and/or other staff members as contacts for the project.
    • Teams agree to participate in the evaluation of the project, including sharing how many patients were contacted, in what way and what the nature of the patient response was (quantitative and qualitative data). Most of this data will be generated by the patient contact management system.

    5)   How much work is the pilot for participating teams? Teams can expect to spend a total of about 1 day with the service provider, spread over several sessions (e.g. GoToMeeting calls).  On these calls, the service provider will review survey administration work flow including how to set up the voice system, and use a portal for editing voice survey questions, managing voice survey results, and creating email instructions for online surveys. 6)      What version of the patient experience survey will be used? Teams will have full control over the content of information shared when the system is used to contact patients.  If teams choose to use the system for patient experience surveys (as planned for the pilot), the team will decide what questions they want to ask their patients and whether they want to do that via phone survey or by pointing patients to an online survey etc. 7)      What analysis features are available in the system? The system will track and generate reports of the voice survey responses, and progress in contacting patients (i.e. number of attempts and successes in making contact with patients etc).  Otherwise, teams would continue to use whatever analytic tools they want. 8)      Whose voice is on the phone call to patients? Teams can choose whose voice will be on the messages to patients and what that voice will say. 9)      Where is the data from the patient experience surveys stored? Teams will tell the service provider where they want any data generated by the patient contact management system to be stored within their own computer systems.  Teams that use the patient contact management system to point patients to an online survey will access the data in those online surveys in the same way they do now. 10)   What other approaches can teams use to contact patients? Telus PS, OSCAR, and Nightingale are EMRs which may be able to provide some (or all) aspects of this functionality within existing systems.  Visit the relevant EMR CoPs for more information on this.  Alternatively, teams may choose to design and implement their own patient contact management system by exporting patient contact information from their EMRs and importing it into an ‘off the shelf’ auto-calling service or system, many of which are available in the market place (e.g. Phone Dialer Pro). 11)   What is the advantage of the Cliniconex system as opposed to just using our postal service or subscribing to an ‘off the shelf’ auto-calling system? The Cliniconex system combines many of the patient contact and survey administrative functions into one platform. Unlike ‘off the shelf’ voice systems, the Cliniconex platform is already built, is integrated with your EMR, includes a user portal with templates to set up voice survey questions and randomization, and a mechanism within the portal to set up the standard email invite to patients. Patient contact statistics and voice survey responses are anonymous, data can be located locally, and is managed by the team, not the service provider. Please contact Carol Mulder for more information.

  • Volunteers wanted for free pilot of a patient contact management system

    Is your FHT or NPLC interested in trying out – at no charge – a system to automatically call or email your patients? Up to 50 AFHTO-member teams can participate in a pilot to test this approach.  The system will allow teams to contact patients in whichever way they want for whatever reason they want. These reasons could include invitations to programs, to complete patient experience surveys, to remind patients of appointments or after-hours services, to request their email addresses, or even to wish them happy birthday! The goal of this project is to make it easier for teams to administer ongoing, consistent, patient experience surveys and otherwise engage patients in their care in meaningful ways.  This has been a long-standing priority for AFHTO members and is emerging as an increasingly important focus for the MOHLTC. AFHTO members formed a selection committee to find a vendor for this pilot. Thanks to ministry project funding, AFHTO is covering all of the vendor’s costs for the pilot sites to:

    • Integrate and implement the system with their EMR.
    • Deliver up to 500 patient contacts per team in the next year.

    Participating teams must be prepared to:

    • Spend approximately 1 full day (over several sessions) to implement the system.
    • Provide feedback for an evaluation of the system so that we can all learn from this pilot.
    • At the end of the year (or after 500 contacts, whichever comes first) choose whether or not they wish to contract with the vendor to continue this service.

    Participation is determined on a first-come first-served basis. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions for more information and eligibility requirements (log-in to members only required). Please contact Marg Leyland as soon as possible if you are interested.

  • Rapids FHT launches program to help children become healthier

    Mar. 12 – Rapids FHT in Sarnia has initiated the Momentum program to empower families to change their eating and behaviour habits so children become healthier. The program is the first of its kind in the region and brings the whole family together with a team of health providers to build meal plans, develop healthy habits and cope with social pressures. They’re currently seeking families to participate in the program. Click here for the full article.  

  • Primary care recommendations in Home and Community Care Report

    Today the Ontario government announced “Ontario Endorses Expert Report on Home and Community Care” as it released Bringing Care Home, a report from the expert group on home and community care led by Dr. Gail Donner. The release stated, “This report will help inform the next steps in Ontario’s home care strategy which will be announced in the coming months.” The report presents what the expert group heard from stakeholders, and the experts’ response to what they heard – leading to 16 recommendations plus enablers required for their implementation. Key points for AFHTO members are the report’s calls for:

    • Clear, consistent definition of the “basket of services” and eligibility to receive them
    • Improved communication between home and community and primary care
    • Role of LHINs in both home and community care and primary care
    • Performance measurement, management and results-based funding, for both home and community care and primary care
    • Human resource planning, including strategies to address the wage gap between sectors

    These themes appear to be aligned with points recently reported from ministry meetings in recent emails to AFHTO members –  MOHLTC’s priorities and plans for primary care and What’s ahead for FHTs + NPLCs . AFHTO members will be pleased to see the report acknowledges the key role of primary care. Some excerpts:

    • The delivery of primary care should be better aligned with home and community care. Communication between primary care providers and service providers is poor (e.g., discharge summaries not sent or sent too late to be useful, communication between physicians and care coordinators is poor). Primary care providers are not always consulted in the development of home and community care plans, nor are they provided with provider assessments, care plans and reports.
    • One of the greatest opportunities to improve home and community care is to improve primary care so it is better equipped to serve its required role as a strong foundation for the rest of the health system.
    • Having an involved primary care provider is critical to the success of any home care plan.

    HIGHLIGHTS FROM REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

    Clear, consistent definition of the “basket of services” and eligibility

    Recommendation 3 calls for the ministry to explicitly define which home care and community services are eligible for provincial funding, under what circumstances, determined using a common standardized assessment tool. Not only will this help patients and families, primary care providers would benefit from clear, consistent understanding of available support.

    Improved communication between home and community and primary care

    Recommendation 1 calls for a Home and Community Care Charter (found on p.18 of report) to be endorsed by the ministry and the principles incorporated into the development of all relevant policies, regulations funding and accountability strategies for this sector. The 11 statements in the charter include: 2.  A single care coordinator will work with the client and family to identify their needs and the most appropriate services to meet those needs. 3. The care coordinator and primary care providers will communicate regularly and in a timely fashion. Where appropriate, technology will be used to facilitate timely and ongoing communication among members of the circle of care.

    Role of LHINs in both home and community care and primary care

    The report points to a number of current challenges. Some excerpts:

    • Home and community care is funded through the LHINs, whereas most primary care practitioners are funded directly by the MOHLTC. Many of the strategies and services needed for more integrated care may already be part of the service agreements between primary care providers and the MOHLTC, and integration could be improved by assigning responsibility for managing those agreements to the LHINs.
    • Primary care was not explicitly in the Expert Group’s mandate; however, the engagement of primary care is a critical success factor for home and community care reform and many stakeholders, both families and providers, identified it as an issue of concern. Unless primary care and home and community care are well aligned, the needed transformation will not be possible. A critical enabler for this alignment is to manage the delivery of primary care through the same entity that manages other elements of home and community care: the LHINs.

    Recommendations 8 and 9 (see next section below) call for a direct role for LHINs with primary care.  To the extent that FHTs and NPLCs could be interested in becoming “lead agencies”, recommendation 11 is also of interest. Recommendation 8: That Local Health Integration Networks, in collaboration with the LHINs’ Primary Care Leads, develop and implement strategies to improve two-way communication between primary care providers and home and community care providers. Recommendation 11: That the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care direct the Local Health Integration Networks to select and fund the most appropriate lead agency or agencies to design and coordinate the delivery of outcomes-based home and community care for populations requiring home and community care for a long term within their LHIN. (See p.28 of report for minimum requirements for the lead agency.)

    Performance measurement, management and results-based funding

    The report identifies several prerequisites for the successful implementation of its recommendations. One of these states, “Until all primary care providers are held accountable for the terms of their services agreement, primary care will not be fully and successfully aligned with home and community care.” Recommendation 9 states that, where performance agreements with primary care providers exist (e.g. with Family Health Teams and Community Health Centres), the Local Health Integration Networks take responsibility for managing performance against the service standards in these agreements and making these results publicly available. Following this recommendation, the report goes on to state:

    Although many family health teams have service agreements with the MOHLTC, most of the performance standards are currently related primarily to volume of services. The Primary Care Performance Measurement Steering Committee at Health Quality Ontario is working on system-level indicators and practice-level indicators that will be publicly reported. These indicators should be incorporated into all relevant performance agreements. The Committee’s work will enhance the LHINs’ ability to monitor performance of some primary care providers in their region.
     

    AFHTO’s work with members on the QIDS program and Data to Decisions (D2D) initiative, is giving leadership to advance primary care measurement in a manageable and meaningful way. Recommendation 15 goes further to propose that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care tie funding for home and community care services (e.g. home care, community support services, primary care) to the achievement of clearly defined outcomes and results.

    Human resource planning and wage gaps between sectors

    AFHTO and its collaborators have been strongly promoting solutions to the problems in recruitment and retention in primary care. We are pleased to see the Expert Group also identified this among the prerequisites for the successful implementation: A human resource plan is needed to address shortages of health human resources. Such a plan should address the lack of care providers in rural and remote communities and include strategies for closing the gap in wages across the province and between sectors and working towards sustainable full-time employment for workers in this sector. As more and more primary care providers do home visits, the following prerequisite is also welcome:

    • Every worker is entitled to a safe environment. When the work place is the client’s home, it is more difficult to ensure a safe environment for both the client and the care provider. Strategies and policies are needed to provide a safe workplace for home and community care providers.

    Implementing the recommendations

    The final recommendation calls for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care appoint Home and Community Care Implementation Co-Leads (one Co-Lead from within and one from outside of the Ministry), with appropriate support, to guide and monitor the implementation of the recommendations in this report, reporting annually to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

  • FHTs and their physicians among The Change Foundation’s 20 Faces of Change

    Mar. 11- AFHTO members were among the inaugural winners of The Change Foundation’s 20 Faces of Change Awards. The awards honour those who have inspired positive, patient-focused change in Ontario’s healthcare system. Dr. Ed Kucharski, Sherbourne Health Centre FHT Dr. Kucharski received the award for his “patient engagement in action” approach in his work with the Canadian Cancer Society and Rainbow Health Ontario to bring cancer screening and cancer screening awareness to some of Toronto’s hardest to reach populations. The South East Toronto FHT and Dr. Thuy-Nga Pham SETFHT and Dr. Pham received theirs for their Patient Advisory Council as well as being the first site in Ontario to implement a primary care Virtual Ward. Click on the links below for further details on:

  • Superior FHT participates in community initiative to reduce drug misuse

    Feb. 25- The Superior Family Health Team is collaborating with community partners to reduce the amount of drug misuse, drug-related crime and incidents of overdose in the Algoma region with the Fentanyl Patch 4 Patch Exchange Program. The program is a collaborative effort between area physicians, pharmacists, and agencies, including Algoma Public Health, Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, Group Health Centre, A New Link, Sault Area Hospital, the North East LHIN, and Dr. Alan McLean and the Superior FHT. Click here for the full article.

  • Governance training: Webinars now online // Register NOW for in-person workshop (hotel group rates expire in 3 days)

    It’s time to take advantage of governance education opportunities available just for you as an AFHTO member. These materials support primary care leaders with your capacity to guide your organization and impact the direction of our health system’s transformation. Register now for FREE workshops on March 25th and March 30th: Effective Governance for Quality in Primary Care Full day workshop is intended for AFHTO member board members, executive directors and lead clinicians. Hotel group rates expire Friday, March 13, 2015 so please confirm your registration as soon as possible.

    Material and recordings of recent “Governance Webinars” series now posted online You can now view our popular Governance Webinarsfor primary care leaders. All three webinars have been posted along with slide decks and Q&A:

    1. Session 1 (Feb 18 & 20): Getting Started
    2. Session 2 (Feb 23 & 27): The Board’s Responsibilities
    3. Session 3 (Mar 2 or 4): Looking Forward – using good governance to enhance organizational performance

    Please click on the links for further information on the workshops and webinars.

  • What’s ahead for FHTs + NPLCs: update from Mar. 5 PHC Branch meeting

    Topics discussed at AFHTO’s March 5, 2015 quarterly meeting with PHC Branch are listed below. Key points made by Deputy Minister in a March 9 speech are added.  Scroll down for details on each.

    1. What’s ahead for FHTs + NPLCs, in light of ministry’s plans for health system reform?
      1. “Comprehensive regionally governed, population-based primary health services for Ontarians.”
      2. Process for determining “high needs” areas / replacement of FHO+FHN physicians
      3. Review of primary care team models
      4. Development of new contract templates for FHTs
    2. More immediately, what can FHTs and NPLCs expect from this year’s operating plan and funding process?
      1. Outlook for funding approvals
      2. Data support for FHTs and NPLCs
      3. Premises costs
      4. Performance measures in the 2015-16 Service Plan (“Schedule A” or “Part B)
      5. Governance and Compliance Attestation
      6. Accountability Reform Initiative
      7. Reallocation and some inconsistency in decisions
      8. Telemedicine equipment
      9. Getting meaningful feedback from your consultant

    1. What’s ahead for FHTs + NPLCs?

    AFHTO members received an email summarizing Associate Deputy Minister Susan Fitzpatrick’s meeting with the AFHTO board on March 3.  AFHTO’s representatives met with PHC Branch on   March 5 to learn more about what’s ahead for primary care in Ontario and advocate for our members. On March 9 Deputy Minister Bob Bell delivered a speech which added further specificity to ministry priorities.

    “Comprehensive regionally governed, population-based primary health services for Ontarians.”

    This statement has appeared on slides used by both the Deputy and the Associate Deputy Ministers – the intent is clear, but not much more is known at this time.  In his March 9 speech, the Deputy emphasized the critical need for a strong foundation of primary care, and went further to speak of a “possible move to Accountable Care Organizations as our primary care system strengthens.”

    Process for determining “high needs” areas / replacement of FHO+FHN physicians

    This topic is clearly linked to the statement above.  The ministry has communicated changes to primary health care physician payments, such that, “effective June 1, 2015 and onwards, monthly registration into these models will be limited to 20 physicians per month in areas of high need.” By end of March, the ministry is aiming to have the criteria and process in place for determining “areas of high need”. LHINs will be playing a key role. The ministry’s new policy regarding entry into FHO and FHN models does allow for replacement of positions vacated by an existing member of that FHO or FHN, outside of the “managed entry” process. The PHC Branch reps confirmed this is on a one-to-one basis – it does not allow for two physicians to divide the roster. Key points for FHTs and NPLCs:

    • Future relationship between LHINs and primary care: Much is not yet known, but this clearly signals much greater involvement with LHINs going forward. This is already happening with Health Links. Many AFHTO members have already developed good relationships with their LHINs; it would be prudent to strengthen these, and keep the leadership in your LHIN aware of the needs and opportunities in your community.
    • FHT and NPLC leadership: AFHTO members have already developed the capacity to lead, govern and build strong collaborations with other partners. Of the 69 Health Links to date, 20 are led by AFHTO members. You are well-positioned to play important leadership roles within your region and more broadly across the province, to shape what “Comprehensive regionally governed, population-based primary health services” will look like.

    Review of primary care team models

    AFHTO’s March 3 email also reported the ministry will be reviewing the team-based models from the perspectives of performance and accountability, funding, and use of interprofessional teams (recruitment and retention, ratios of team members, opportunity to leverage these resources). The ministry is developing terms of reference for this review, and is considering the range of team-based models to be included. One of the ministry’s drivers is to ensure that Ontarians who could benefit most from team-based care have access to this. The review is still in early development but the PHC Branch confirmed that AFHTO and related associations will be involved to inform the review process. Key points for FHTs and NPLCs

    • “Programs” and “comprehensive team-based primary care”: AFHTO has been challenging PHC Branch to look beyond their focus on “programs” if the ministry is truly interested in reaping the full value of comprehensive team-based primary care. PHC Branch has acknowledged this need – see below regarding “Schedule A” of the FHT annual operating plans.
    • Value comes from team collaboration, not referral: AFHTO has been taking every opportunity, including this meeting, to stress this point. The pressure to broaden access to teams has led some in the ministry and elsewhere to look to enabling physicians outside of teams to refer patients to IHPs within teams. Research evidence to date in Ontario, including the FHT evaluation report, points to the value of team collaboration, with all providers, including family physicians, as active members of that team.  The question is how to strengthen teams and broaden their reach.
    • What does it mean to be a team? Following from this, we will all be thinking about the further evolution of these team-based models and how the various providers are connected to them.
    • Measuring the value of team-based care: AFHTO continually reminds the ministry that the cost of team-based care is NOT the question – it is the value delivered for system sustainability. Data to Decisions (D2D) 2.0 will include further refinements to the measure of “total cost of care”. Your participation is critical to making the case that the investment in team-based care pays off by, among other things, optimizing total health system costs for patients. Stay informed – sign up for the bi-weekly D2D ebulletin.

    Development of new contract templates for FHTs  

    Contracts between MOHLTC and FHTs expire on March 31, 2016. AFHTO is ready with clear direction from the leaders of our member-organizations on the necessary principles – for the governance of primary care organizations; for accountability and reporting to funders; for determining accountability measures; for funding allocation; and for the support teams need to deliver timely, high-quality, comprehensive team-based care. In his March 9 speech the Deputy emphasized several times over the need to improve performance measurement and performance management in primary and community care, as has been done in hospitals. No doubt this will be reflected in future contracts. AFHTO and PHC Branch will meet again in a few weeks for further discussion of the specific question of measurement and reporting. Key points for FHTs and NPLCs

    • AFHTO continues to work with and on behalf of members to advance manageable and meaningful measurement. Through the Quality Improvement Decision Support program AFHTO members are strengthening capacity to measure and leading the way to identify appropriate and meaningful measures.
    • Likewise, AFHTO members are guiding development of contract templates. The ED and Physician Leadership Councils will play key roles in advising the AFHTO board as these discussions move forward.

    2. What to expect in 2015/16 operating plan and funding process

    AFHTO probed into a number of issues and questions members have been asking. Following from this meeting with PHC Branch, we offer the following advice to members;

    Outlook for funding approvals

    In simple words – don’t expect new money. Government has not yet presented its 2015/16 Budget, so the size of the “pies” to be divided among FHTs and among NPLCs is not yet known. These “pies” have been fully stretched in the past year, and as is happening in the rest of government, they could shrink. FHTs/NPLCs that are seeking additional funds can expect the approval process will take at least 4 months. Those who are only requesting reallocations of their base funding can expect fairly quick turnarounds.

    Data support for FHTs and NPLCs

    All AFHTO members – NPLCs and FHTs — are welcome to take full advantage of AFHTO’s QIDS Provincial Program. Unfortunately about 25 FHTs and all 25 NPLCs have no access to direct support from a QIDSS Specialist. The ministry is considering a proposal from NPAO for the NPLCs, and will consider any others from FHTs, however the funding situation described above means additional positions may not be possible.

    Premises costs

    Following the same theme as above – the ministry will consider increases where premise costs have gone up, but will insist that you first look at funding from within your existing budget.

    Performance measures in the 2015-16 Service Plan (“Schedule A” or “Part B)

    The Annual Operating Plan for FHTs includes “Schedule A – FHT Service Plan”.  NPLCs report their Service Plan in “Part B: 2015-2016 Strategic Priorities and Vision”, which includes strategic priorities, program and service commitments. The “Schedule A Guidance Document” in the FHT AOP package also gives specific instructions to list each of the FHTs programs, target population, objectives and performance measures. Key points for FHTs and NPLCs:

    • Following from the “programs” versus “comprehensive team-based primary care” discussion above, the ministry welcomes seeing “comprehensive team-based primary care” listed as a program, with objectives and measures.
    • The examples in the FHT Guidance Document are “counts” rather than actual performance measures with numerators and denominators. PHC Branch confirmed performance measures are welcome. The need is to demonstrate the return on the public investment.
    • For FHTs, the three topics at the top of the Schedule A submission sheet are required – enrollment, same day/next day and house calls.
    • For all other measures your FHT or NPLC can choose what you believe is most appropriate for your organization.

    Governance and Compliance Attestation

    All FHTs and NPLCs must submit the Governance and Compliance Attestation. This form sets out the ministry’s expectations for appropriate governance practices. If a FHT or NPLC is lacking in any areas, the PHC Branch has said they will work with the entity to improve in these areas. It will also send the aggregate results to AFHTO to share with the membership and focus our Governance and Leadership programming. A number of EDs asked about the requirement that “FHT has a current Performance Measures document monitored by the Board on an ongoing basis”. In the Attestation the ministry is looking for a simple “yes/no” response, although the PHC Branch will do occasional audits. The Quality and Safety section of AFHTO’s Fundamentals of Governance guidebook and toolkit provides guidance for boards on their fiduciary duties for performance and how performance measures are used to fulfill this duty. Suggestions include using AFHTO’s Data to Decisions 1.0  measures. (For more information about the upcoming D2D 2.0 indicators, click here.)

    Accountability Reform Initiative (ARI)

    Once again FHTs have the option to apply for ARI, which would give the team greater flexibility in how it uses its budget. It will be granted to those who meet all the governance and compliance requirements. Those who come close but don’t quite make it can be reconsidered later in the year if they’ve taken all the necessary steps to comply. NPLCs may be able to apply for ARI in the 2016-17 Annual Operating Plan process. Since they are newer entities, the ministry is waiting another year before potentially extending ARI to them.

    Reallocation and some inconsistency in decisions

    Following from the ministry’s recent call for reallocation requests, member EDs had reported to AFHTO some situations where consultants had not allowed a budget reallocation. The common element in the issues in question appeared to be regarding what physicians should cover.  PHC Branch reported they received over 100 submissions and are working to improve the response process. There are budget guidelines regarding what should be covered by the physician group, and decisions can be reviewed to ensure they’re applied consistently.

    Telemedicine equipment

    Members have been faced with vendors declaring ‘end of service’ for their telemedicine equipment and financial challenges to replace equipment. Some have been able to find funds within their budgets to address this; others have made arrangements through their local hospitals.  AFHTO members have offered assistance to help the ministry develop a more sustainable and unified strategy for ongoing OTN support. Recognizing this issue involves OTN, its funder (eHealth Ontario), the Northern Health Travel Grant program and the Nursing Secretariat, PHC Branch has agreed to take the first step. Starting with FHTs and NPLCs in the NE/NW, they will look at the most valuable uses of OTN equipment, how much of OTN use falls into this category, and whether a sustainability policy can be developed.

    Getting meaningful feedback from your consultant

    The short answer is – phone your consultant. AFHTO members periodically send us examples of feedback letters from ministry that offers no insight into why a decision was made. FHTs and NPLCs want to improve – and need specific, constructive feedback to help them do so. PHC Branch reported that each letter must be reviewed and approved before going out, so content is limited.

    3.    Participants in the March 5, 2015 meeting

    AFHTO was represented by:

    • Randy Belair (AFHTO President and ED, Sunset Country FHT, Kenora)
    • Ross Kirkconnell (Secretary + QIDS Steering Committee Chair and ED, Guelph FHT)
    • Kavita Mehta (ED Advisory Council Chair and ED, South East Toronto FHT)
    • Angie Heydon (AFHTO Executive Director)
    • Carol Mulder ( AFHTO QIDS Provincial Lead)

    MOHLTC’s PHC Branch representatives were:

    • Phil Graham (Acting Director, PHC Branch and Manager, Interprofessional Programs Unit)
    • Fernando Tavares (Program Manager, Interprofessional Programs)
    • Alexa Pagel (Senior Program Consultant)