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  • Farewell Carol Mulder

    A Fond Farewell to Carol Mulder

    Provincial Lead, Quality Improvement and Decision Support

    Dear AFHTO Members:

    I am writing to let you know that Carol Mulder is leaving AFHTO at the end of December 2018.  Carol will be taking a contract with OntarioMD to further the partnership AFHTO has enjoyed with OntarioMD dating back to even before OntarioMD produced the very first Data to Decisions report, D2D 1.0, in October 2014.  She will also be taking on a role with the Center for Studies in Primary Care at Queens University in Kingston.

    Since it began in October 2013, Carol has led the Quality Improvement Decision Support program at AFHTO for over 5 years.  Over that time, the community of practice around quality improvement in primary care has blossomed.  Through this community, AFHTO members have developed a robust culture of measurement exemplified by the high level of sustained voluntary participation in D2D and numerous other measurement and improvement efforts.

    While Carol and AFHTO members alike find it difficult to part at such an exciting point in our collective improvement journeys, it is nice to know that Carol is not going far.  She will continue to contribute to the quality of primary care in Ontario through her new roles at OntarioMD and the Centre for Studies in Primary Care at Queens and AFHTO and our members will continue to benefit from her passion in ensuring team based primary care continue with its improvement efforts while they provide the best quality of care possible for our patients.  Please join me in wishing her well in her new roles right here in our own neighbourhood!

    If you have any questions about the QIDS Program please connect with Catherine Macdonald, Project Coordinator (catherine.macdonald@afhto.ca) or Laura Belsito, Clinical Knowledge Translation and Exchange Specialist (laura.belsito@afhto.ca).

    Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season.

    Kavita Mehta

    Chief Executive Officer

  • Season’s Greetings from AFHTO | Holiday Hours Inside

  • Bits & Pieces: time to advocate for team-based care, 2018 tools, resources & more

    Your Weekly News & Updates
    Time to advocate for team-based care Join Hill+Knowlton Strategies, our government relations firm, on Friday, January 18, 2019 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. to hear about the new government’s priorities, to discuss how to work with your MPP, an to review the prepared key messages that will resonate. It’s important that MPPs are champions for team-based care as the government reviews primary care in the province and how it’s delivered. Learn how to effectively communicate with yours! Register here.     In this Issue: Time to advocate for team-based care Perkopolis perks for AFHTO members AFHTO 2018 Events- videos and slides included 2018 tools and resources 2018 Leadership development and training Opioid De-Implementation Initiative Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF) seeking input for webinar on post-concussion care Upcoming events regarding strategic planning and more
    Perkopolis perks for AFHTO members We have had an extremely busy and productive year in 2018, so below are highlights of tools, resources and events we’ve been privileged to develop for you. And to usher in the new year, we have perks! AFHTO has partnered up with Perkopolis, an employee perk program that allows members access to great savings on entertainment, travel, attractions, shopping, health & wellness and more! Last week we sent EDs instructions on how to join and the deadline is Jan. 11. If EDs are interested in adding your team or have any questions, please email info@afhto.ca. perkopolis
    AFHTO 2018 events- videos and slides included
    Checking out the posters at the 2018 conference

     
    2018 tools and resources

    2018 Leadership development and training

    • LeaderShift
    • LEADS LITE
    • Partnership with Joule’s Physician Leadership Institute for physician leadership training
    		 leads lite
    Opioid De-Implementation Initiative CAMH’s Opioid De-Implementation Initiative aims to promote evidence-based practices for treating pain and addiction in primary health care. They’re currently offering:

    • Opioid De-Implementation in Primary Care: Please join an interactive webinar on January 8, 2019 presented by project lead Dr. Peter Selby. Topics of discussion will include a systematic approach to identifying risk of opioid overdose and/or dependence, tapering opioids, and treating addiction, pain or both. Please register online here.
    • Buprenorphine-Naloxone Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: A free online course open to any primary care clinician who is involved in providing treatment for opioid use disorder. To enroll, please click here.
    • Making the Choice, Making It Work: An easy-to-read resource that’s ideal for individuals who are interested in learning about opioid agonist therapy. To order a free hardcopy, please email opioid.project@camh.ca.
    Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF) seeking input for webinar on post-concussion care The Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF) will be hosting a webinar on post-concussion care and they need your help. Primary care teams are the frontline for concussion diagnosis and treatment which means management of persistent concussion symptoms is an important issue for AFHTO members. ONF has developed evidence-based guidelines and standards that help address concussion management issues, that they’d like to showcase to AFHTO members in the form of a webinar. To maximize its value, they’d like to highlight clinically-relevant issues teams face when managing patients after concussion. To do this, they’re looking to partner with an AFHTO member who can help focus the webinar content to ensure it is clinically relevant and practical for primary care teams. They’d also like to jointly present the webinar with this member. ONF will support the development of the webinar content to limit the impact on resources and time. If you’re interested in this opportunity or would like more information, please contact Chad Debison-Larabie, Program and Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator, ABI at (416) 422-2228 x. 207 or chad@onf.org.
    Governance Webcast Series: Strategic Planning, Jan. 15, 2019 Learn how strategic planning can bring your organization growth and success. Register now! HQO Webinar: Overview of QIP Priorities, Dec. 19, 2018 Attend for information and overview of changes about the 2019/2020 QIP priorities. Learn more here.
    Governance Webcast Series: Public Complaints, Feb. 20, 2019 Learn requirements and tips on how to address public complaints. Register now! Changing CARE: Made-in-Ontario approaches to improving the caregiver experience: Jan. 28, 2019, Toronto Registration is required for this free event by the Change Foundation. Learn more here.

     

  • “Transitions”: Inspiration to get you focused on follow-up

    AFHTO members have identified follow-up after hospitalization as a key area of focus for better patient outcomes. Delivering timely, team-based follow-up is also an important way to demonstrate the value of primary care teams to Ontario’s health system. It’s been an indicator in D2D  since the second iteration. Now, transitions in care have surfaced as a province-wide improvement priority for the 2019-20 Quality Improvement Plans (QIPS). Looking for inspiration? Your peers have it! We know that providing timely follow-up is challenging. But we also know that our teams are up to the challenge! Some of your peers in AFHTO have shared their innovations in this area at the last few AFHTO conferences as well as at Focus on Follow-Up, a recent workshop by and for teams in the North East LHIN region. Check out what your peers have done here:

    AFHTO teams are already making great strides in improving transitions and follow-up.   View the slide deck here.

  • Data to Decisions eBulletin #82: Following Up on Follow-Up

    In this issue

    • Following up on follow-up
    •  Introducing a council for the community of “Q”
    • Building together: How to become a high-performing team
    • Deferring the next D2D report

    Following-up on follow-up

    First, thank you to the over 50 people who braved the snow and shared their stories about follow-up in Sudbury at the end of November for Focus on Follow-Up. Second, thanks to our generous sponsors, OpenLabs (who developed Patient Oriented Discharge Summaries), LifeLabs, and CognisantMD, for making the event possible. Thanks also to our partners at the North East LHIN, the North East Ontario Hospital Network (NEON), Health Quality Ontario, and OntarioMD for participating and learning along with us. Finally, thanks in advance to you, for doing your part to pick up and spread what we learned together there:

    To get more details on these and other helpful tips for improving follow-up, check out all the slide decks and resources here. Or maybe these stories will inspire you to tell your peers how you are doing follow-up to keep your patients from falling through the cracks after they leave hospital. AFHTO’s board has identified follow-up after hospitalization as a priority for 2019. It’s also an important way for primary care to respond the issues of hospital overcrowding and “hallway medicine” and finally, it will be a focus of the 2019-20 QIPs. So, let’s work together to show what we’re already doing for follow-up and maybe even make it a little bit better!

    Introducing a council for the community of “Q”

    It started with seven QIDS Specialists who first came together at the AFHTO conference in 2013. Five year later, the distribution list for the QIDSS community of practice is 60 strong. The QIDSS were joined first by QIDSS-like folks, then Quality Improvement and Information Management Support (QIIMS) staff from the NPLCs, and most recently E-QIP data and information coaches. They’re now a robust, mature community of QI workers and leaders, collectively known as “The Q.” They have built a large collective body of knowledge and a strong network for resource-sharing and peer support. AFHTO’s emerging culture of measurement is thanks in large part to them. Now, they’re taking a big step together on their own: Over the next few months, they’ll be electing a council of peers to serve as leaders and advocates for their own community of quality. Nominations are now open. If you think your Q is the B’s knees, encourage them to put their name forward!

    Building together: How to become a high-performing team

    Join us in March for a deep dive into what makes teams, your teams, work, and learn how to make your team even better. This workshop will explore the nine dimensions of high functioning teams identified by Dr. Judith Belle Brown, Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Western University. It will focus on the dimensions that your fellow teams told us they find most important in achieving high performance. You’ll leave the workshop with concrete ideas that you can use to make your team even better. This workshop is for every member of a primary care team. Everyone is welcome, from the official to the unofficial leaders, the clinicians and the clerical staff and everyone in between. Team-building happens from the bottom up and the top down and from every other direction as well. The workshop will be held twice – in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 and in Toronto on Friday, March 8, 2019. We’ll share more details soon but mark your calendars now! Practical support for the research and funding for the workshops has been provided by our research partners at the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, Western University, through the INSPIRE2-PHC program funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. We look forward to seeing you – and your team – there!

    Deferring the next D2D report

    In light of changes to QIDS program funding, AFHTO’s board has decided not to produce D2D 6.1 this winter as originally planned. Instead, AFHTO’s QIDS program staff will be focussing on getting even more value from the measurement work AFHTO members have done. They will be doing deeper analysis of the existing D2D data (including the qualitative data from the QI enablers study), expanding team characteristics data and finalizing research partnerships to ensure ongoing analytic support for D2D, regardless of how QIDS program funding unfolds.

    In Case You Missed It: Check out eBulletin #81 or other back issues here!

    Questions? Comments? Connect with the QIDS team at improve@afhto.ca.

  • Season’s Greetings from AFHTO | Holiday Hours Inside

  • Bits & Pieces: members saving urgent care more than $700k, ON budget & more

    Your Weekly News & Updates
    Members stories: integration and more Bancroft and North Hastings FHTs: Bancroft and North Hastings FHTs to integrate Central Lambton FHT: OCFP honours Central Lambton FHT physicians City of Kawartha Lakes FHT: City of Kawartha Lakes FHT saves urgent care more than $700,000 Espanola & Area FHT: Espanola & Area FHT implements new addictions service McMaster FHT: Evaluation of the McMaster Family Health Team: results and practical implications for quality improvement Marathon FHT: CBC profiles Marathon FHT’s Bright Lights Award for Safer Opioid Prescription (HARMS) Program In this Issue: Members stories: integration and more 2019 Ontario budget consultations HQO Leadership Summit slides Opportunity to participate in an accreditation pilot Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative needs assessment Upcoming events regarding strategic planning and more      
    2019 Ontario budget consultations Ontario’s government is seeking public input for the 2019 Ontario Budget until Feb. 8, 2019. They want to hear your ideas on the best ways to fulfill their five core commitments, including the commitment to cut hospital wait times and end hallway healthcare. Creating a robust and well–resourced primary health care system is a major solution to address the current crisis so this is an opportunity to highlight how your team is making a difference in your community and why there needs to be further investments in team-based primary care. You can submit suggestions in multiple ways, including online and in-person.
    HQO Leadership Summit slides On Nov. 30. The HQO Leadership Summit 2018 took place. We now have all the presentations from the main plenary sessions. Please visit our website to see the slide decks.
    Opportunity to participate in an accreditation pilot The Canadian Centre for Accreditation (CCA) provides leadership in accreditation by assuring quality and continuous improvement in community-based health and social services. The CCA is offering a pilot project for Community-based Primary Health Care Standards that the CCA has revised. While accreditation of FHTs and NPLCs is not mandatory at this time, teams are being offered an opportunity to provide input into the development of primary care accreditation standards. This will include submitting pre-site evidence and hosting a CCA reviewer for one day to conduct the site visit. All expenses are covered by the CCA. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Bryn Hamilton before the holidays at bryn.hamilton@afhto.ca.
    Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative needs assessment The Centre for Effective Practice wants to know what topic areas family physicians and nurse practitioners would like a clinical tool or resource to cover. Your response will directly influence the topics they select for the Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative (KTinPC). The CEP is collaborating with the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO) on this multi-year Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) funded initiative to develop and disseminate clinical tools and resources on up to five clinical topics each year. Fill out the 5-minute survey
    Governance Webcast Series: Strategic Planning, Jan. 15, 2019 Learn how strategic planning can bring your organization growth and success. Register now! Beyond Silence Mental Health Training for 2019 Dates from Jan-May 2019 for Toronto, Cobourg, Chatham, Thunder Bay & Hamilton developed by McMaster University. Learn more here.
    Governance Webcast Series: Public Complaints, Feb. 20, 2019 Learn requirements and tips on how to address public complaints. Register now! Opioids Clinical Primer MacHealth has released the first 2 of six free courses on understanding and managing the ongoing opioid crisis. Learn more here.

     

  • Rapids FHT & Bluewater Health open house to help find mental health, addiction services

    The Sarnia Journal article published on December 9, 2018 By The Sarnia Journal Residents in search of the proper mental health and addiction resources can attend monthly open houses starting Dec. 19. At each open house, hosted by the Rapids Family Health Team and Bluewater Health, a registered social worker and hospital addictions program employee will be available to help identify what services are available and how individuals can access them. “We certainly don’t have all the mental health services that we require, but we have many services that people are often unaware of and it’s important, especially during the holidays, to get people connected with services that fit their needs,” said Lynn Laidler, executive director at Rapids Family Health Team. Open houses run the third Wednesday of the month, 11a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rapids FHT Community Teaching Kitchen, 460 Christina St., N. (back entrance at Maxwell Street). Free refreshments and free Naloxone kits provided by Lambton Public Health. For more, contact Cynthia at 519-339-8949 or cmccoleman@rapidsfhteam.ca Click here to access the Sarnia Journal article

  • HQO 2018 Leadership Summit Slides

    On Nov. 30. HQO Leadership Summit 2018 took place. We now have all the presentations from the main room. Please click on the image below to see the relevant document.

  • City of Kawartha Lakes FHT saves Urgent Care more than $700,000

    The Lindsay Advocate article published on December 7, 2018 By Bert Lauwers A costing by the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team has revealed that the team has saved the health care system more than $700,000 since 2014 through its emergency room and after hours clinic diversion programs. Under these programs, the team’s health care professionals assess whether their care and treatment of the patient in the family health team offices resulted in the patient not having to go to the emergency department or attend local after hours clinics. Since 2014, tracking patients visits has indicated that more than 8,800 patients have avoided the emergency room and the after hours clinic due to the family health team. Health Quality Ontario reported in 2014/15 that emergency room visits were continuing to raise, especially by patients aged 65 and over. “Although these numbers are estimates, the real value of the family health team model comes in many other ways,” says Dr. Eric Ready, chair of the board of the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Team. “Examples of this are the improved access to care in rural areas; improved local mental health care; and improved complex chronic disease management. These things are priceless,” adds Ready. The savings figures were based on average per patient financial data compiled by the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Organization and Lakeridge Health, which is a local ‘case costing’ hospital. The hospital’s case costing program provides detailed, cost-related data to inform decision-making about the types of health services to deliver and how to deliver them. The emergency room costs were based on visits that did not include being admitted to hospital. The City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team’s Executive Director, Mike Perry, is also pleased with the figures. “This is a significant savings over time,” he notes. “We will be continuing to help patients and save the health care system money wherever we can. It is also good to see how a family health team can free up wait times and spaces in other key areas of the health system.” “The Ross Memorial Hospital applauds the efforts of the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team to improve access to primary care. As a close community partner, we are committed to working collaboratively with the Family Health Team to advance access to patient care. Clearly, this data resoundingly supports positive efforts for patient care. Congratulations are in order,” adds Dr. Bert Lauwers, president & CEO of the RMH. The City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team began operation in 2011 and has health care professionals providing care to patients in Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, Lindsay, Little Britain and Omemee. If you need a family doctor, contact Health Care Connect at 1-800-445-1822 to register locally. Click here to access the Lindsay Advocate article