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Tag: Health Care Links & Partnerships

  • 2023 Conference Themes

    2023 Conference Themes

    Team-Based Care: Making it a reality for all

    text says Team Based Care: Making it a reality for all in white font on a blue streaked background, like hyperspace

     

    The AFHTO 2023 Conference program is built around 4 core themes.

    1. Using a population-based approach to provide care to the community
    2. Optimising teams’ capacity and creating efficiencies
    3. Organizing primary care to advance Ontario Health Teams
    4. Embedding mental health and home care in primary care

     

    ConFERENCE Theme Descriptions

    Download a printable PDF of the theme descriptions here.

     

    1. Using a population-based approach to provide care to the community

    Topics of interest include (but aren’t limited to):

    • Expanding access to teams for unattached patients
    • Partnerships to facilitate population-based health approaches
    • Utilising data to inform population-based planning
    • Collaborative governance / Governance at the OHT level

     

    2. Optimising teams’ capacity and creating efficiencies

    Topics of interest include (but aren’t limited to):

    • Triage in a world of virtual online booking
    • Focus on non-digital methods of integration including back-office integration, common clinical pathways, cross-team collaborations/regional approaches to care
    • Creating operational efficiencies through digital health tools
    • Interprofessional Health Providers and full scope of practice
    • Staff and provider wellness
    • Recruitment and retention

    3. Organizing primary care to advance Ontario Health Teams

    Topics of interest include (but aren’t limited to):

    • Building Primary Care Networks- success case studies
    • Integrating Primary Care Networks with OHTs
    • Jurisdictional review of organized primary care

    4. Embedding mental health and home care in primary care

    Topics of interest include (but aren’t limited to):

    • Increasing access to mental health and addictions support at the population level
    • Supporting Mental Health Promotion & Prevention (including support for Children and Youth)
    • Mental health pathways in Ontario Health Teams
    • Primary Care in the home
    • Increasing collaborations between providers

  • Bits & Pieces: Wellness Check – Dealing with Transitions and Managing Stress, and more

    Bits & Pieces: Wellness Check – Dealing with Transitions and Managing Stress, and more

    Your Weekly News & Updates

    In This Issue  
    • Wellness Check: Dealing with Transitions and Managing Stress Sep. 15
    • Farewell to Sombo Saviye
    • Ontario Health seeking Regional Clinical Leads
    • EMR queries for under 5 vaccines and more
    • Deadline to nominate a partner or healthcare inspiration for an AFHTO Board award this Friday
    • Upcoming events including COVID-19 vaccination for kids under 5 and more

     

    Wellness Check: Dealing with Transitions and Managing Stress Sep. 15

    Uncertainty and unpredictability have been constants throughout the duration of the pandemic as has the need to navigate transitions. In a webinar hosted in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario, participants will have the opportunity to gain insight into change processes and their impact on workplace mental health from Nancy Hood, the head trainer of the Your Health Space program.

    Strategies for managing hybrid working models and combating stress will also be explored. Learn more and register here.

    Sombo Saviye at #AFHTO2017

    Farewell to Sombo Saviye

    It is with deep emotion we announce that Sombo Saviye will be leaving AFHTO for a new role supporting an MPP.

    Sombo has been with AFHTO for over 9 years, most recently as Manager, Finance and Corporate Affairs. Her colleagues have been known to not so jokingly refer to her as the heart of the team, keeping everything running so smoothly.

    We’re going to miss Sombo but know she will bring so much to her new role. And it’s great to know that a person with great integrity is moving to support an elected candidate! Please join us in giving her our sincerest best wishes. Her last day with AFHTO will be Friday, August 26th – any questions related to her work can be directed to info@afhto.ca.

    If anyone is interested in joining our team in a similar role, you can find details here. Deadline August 19, 2022.

     

    Ontario Health seeking Regional Clinical Leads

    Ontario Health is seeking expressions of interest from experienced clinicians to provide clinical leadership and collaborate with regional partners to evolve the health system in Ontario. A few postings are especially relevant for the primary care community:

    • Regional Clinical Lead, MHA (RHP, excl. physician)
    • Regional Lead, Primary Care
    • Regional Lead, Palliative Care (physician)
    • Regional Lead, Palliative Care (RHP, excl. physician)
    • Regional Lead, Mental Health and Addictions (physician)

    You can find more details here.

    EMR queries for under 5 vaccines and more

    Recent updates include:

    We continue to update several pages on our site with resources and news:

    Deadline to nominate a partner or healthcare inspiration for an AFHTO Board award this Friday

    The AFHTO board invites all members to help them select the recipient of a Board award.

    Submit a nomination online for the Board Award category by August 19, 2022.

    Find out more about the criteria here. You can find the nomination template here.

    COVID-19 vaccination for kids under 5, Aug. 19, 2022
    Next in the series ‘Changing the way we work’ from the COVID-19 CoP by OCFP and UofT DFCM. Register here.

    ECHO Ontario Bariatric Network, starting Aug. 19, 2022
    New sessions in this learning series hosted Ontario’s Bariatric Centres of Excellence starting August 19th and various dates in September. Find out more here.

    NPAO 2022 Annual Conference, Sep. 22-23, 2022

    This years’ Conference theme is The NP Experience: Pushing Boundaries Towards Common Goals. Find out more here.

    Data To Action: Making Your Data Visible and Useful, Sep. 28, 2022
    Hosted by TechSoup Connect’s Ontario chapter. Register here.

    OMD Digital Health and Virtual Care Conference, Sep. 29-30, 2022
    Virtual conference hosted by OntarioMD. Find out more here.

    AFHTO 2022 Conference, Oct. 12, 2022

    Join your peers from across Ontario and beyond as we reconnect and reimagine, moving forward together.

    Members get more than 50% off registration. Register with your verification code here.

  • 2022 Conference Themes

    2022 Conference Themes

    Tectonic shifts: rebuilding primary care in a new world
    (more…)

  • LESS THAN A WEEK to submit a poster abstract

    LESS THAN A WEEK to submit a poster abstract

    Post-Pandemic Primary Care: Respond, Recover, Rebuild

    Submit your poster abstract- deadline August 3, 2021

    Scrabble pieces spelling 'equity'

    We want your insight on these topics:

    -Building sustainable programs for improved access

    -Navigating complex systems to lead effectively

    -Picking the right partners and integrating care around the patient

    -Innovations in digital health, especially for rural and remote communities

    -How to address challenges at the policy and system level

    -Digital equity

    -Indigenous health and creating care that is culturally safe

    -Treating the whole person in the context of their lived experience

    Colleagues from other health care sectors, non-profits, and the academic community will join, all eager to hear about these and more in our 5 core themes. The deadline to submit for an #AFHTO2021 presentation is August 3, 2021.

    Helpful links:

    All are welcome. Please pass this along to your peers, colleagues and network including those from other healthcare sectors, non-profits, and the academic and research communities.

    Nominate a partner for a Board award

    For the first time ever, the AFHTO board invites all members to help them select the recipient of a Board award.

    Submit a nomination online for the Board Award category by August 20, 2021.

    Find out more about the criteria here. You can find the nomination template here.

    Other related updates: We’re currently in discussions with potential sponsors for AFHTO’s “Bright Lights” Awards, which recognize AFHTO members’ leadership, outstanding work and the significant progress being made to improve the value interprofessional primary care teams across Ontario deliver. Nominations will open soon, but members can get started by taking these things into consideration.

    For more information, you can contact us by phone (647-234-8605 x1200) or e-mail (info@afhto.ca).

  • 2021 Conference Themes

    2021 Conference Themes

    Tectonic shifts: rebuilding primary care in a new world
    (more…)

  • Bits & Pieces: OHT partners & #AFHTO2020, updated symptom reference & more

    Bits & Pieces: OHT partners & #AFHTO2020, updated symptom reference & more

    Your Weekly News & Updates

    In This Issue  
    • Just over 2 wks to the conference- invite your OHT partners
    • Electronic Asthma Management System demo slides and video available
    • BEACON iCBT provincial program – resources & demonstration Sep. 24
    • Updated symptoms reference and more
    • Member access to conference recordings
    • Learning and improvement collaboratives for Ontario Health Teams
    • Ontario Health survey on equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism
    • New quality standard for problematic alcohol use and alcohol use disorder
    • Submit a nomination for 2020 Canada’s volunteer awards
    • Upcoming events regarding the OTF Resilient Communities Fund and more

    Just over 2 wks to the conference- invite your OHT partners

    The AFHTO 2020 conference is an invaluable opportunity for all OHT partners to gain greater insight into your contributions to healthcare, so invite them to take part.

    With sessions like:

    There’s so much for them to learn.

     Don’t forget to register before Oct.1-use the member access code to get your discounted rate (sent to your team’s leadership)!

    Electronic Asthma Management System demo

     

    Electronic Asthma Management System demo slides and video available

    On Sep. 15 we held a live demonstration of the Electronic Asthma Management System (eAMS) tool. Video and slides for that demonstration are now available.

     

     

    BEACON iCBT provincial program – resources & demonstration Sep. 24

    BEACON is accessible and effective online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, guided by a registered Mental Health professional, and now funded by the Government of Ontario during COVID-19. Over 80% of participants have experienced symptom reduction and two-thirds have experienced clinically significant improvement.

    If you have any questions about BEACON, please feel free to contact colin.andersen@mindbeacon.com

    We will have a demonstration of BEACON, along with Togetherall and Bounceback Sep. 24.

    Togetherall (previously known as Big White Wall) is endorsed and paid for by the Government of Ontario and Ministry of Health. Bounceback is an evidence-based, skill-building program grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) managed by the Canadian Mental Health Association and is FREE to all Ontarians aged 15+.Register here.

    Updated symptoms reference and more

    Updates recently released include:

    We continue to update several pages on our site with resources and news:

    Member access to conference recordings

    After our in-person conference, available presentation slides are typically posted for members. This year, to help cover associated costs, we’re taking a somewhat different approach.

    Members will get access to individual session recordings and/or slides for a nominal fee of $15 compared to non-members for $25.

    In addition, all AFHTO members will get free access to recordings of keynote sessions, previously unavailable with our in-person event. Free member access includes:

    • Helen Bevan
    • Matt Anderson
    • Minister Elliott
    • Dr. Jane Philpott
    • And poster pdfs

    Presenters who decline to participate need to do so by contacting conference@afhto.ca by this Friday, Sep. 25.

    Learning and improvement collaboratives for Ontario Health Teams

    RISE & OH(Q) have created chat rooms/CoPs per priority population, patients & caregivers and digital health. Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) learning and improvement collaboratives bring together those actively participating in the development of OHTs with experts drawn from across the province, including system leaders, people with lived experience, and researchers.

    Learn more about how you can participate.

    Ontario Health survey on equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism
    With a lens towards health equity, OH has also initiated a project to complete an equity assessment and develop an action plan to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion, and to address anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism. Although FHT and NPLC contracts are currently not managed by OH, we encourage members to fill in the Survey on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism for Health Service Providers.

    This will help advance the vision of a more integrated health system that eliminates health disparities, addresses the social determinants of health, and delivers excellent and equitable access, experience, and outcomes for all Ontarians.

    New quality standard for problematic alcohol use and alcohol use disorder

    Ontario Health (Quality) has released a new quality standard for problematic alcohol use and alcohol use disorder.

    For more information contact OH-HQO_QualityStandards@ontariohealth.ca.

    Submit a nomination for 2020 Canada’s volunteer awards
    Nominate a not-for-profit organization, an individual, a group of volunteers, a social enterprise or a business that is making a difference in your community. Deadline Sep. 30.

    OTF Resilient Communities Fund Webinar with Optimus, Sep. 29, 2020
    Learn more about the supports your team can receive to rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19 through the Ontario Trillium Fund. Hosted by AFHTO.
    Register today!

    Youth and Cannabis Use Speaker Series: Part 2: Panel Discussion: Cannabis use amongst Diverse Youth, Sept. 29, 2020

    Explore considerations from experts working with diverse youth on considerations for health and service providers.
    Learn more here.

    BETTER Prevention Practitioner Training, Oct. 1-2, 2020
    Healthcare professionals can learn how to better prevent and screen chronic diseases in primary care through this 2-day workshop held by the Better Program (Women’s College Hospital).
    More details can be found here.

    AFHTO 2020 Conference, Oct. 8-9, 2020

    Registration has opened for Tectonic shifts: rebuilding primary care in a new world, our 2020 virtual conference! Members receive a significant discount so contact your administrator for your member access code. Early bird deadline Oct. 1. Find out more here.

    Special Interest Two-Part Series Infant And Early Childhood Mental Health In Primary Care, Oct. 14 & 21, 2020

    Attend this 2-part series covering infant and early child mental health case studies, held by CHEO (CAMH).
    Find out more here.

    Annual Toronto Geriatrics Update Virtual Course, Oct. 30, 2020
    The UHN’s annual geriatrics CPD course is now being offered online. Join this one day course for lectures and breakout sessions on geriatric issues and syndromes during the pandemic.
    Learn more here.

    Hearing Your Voices: A Virtual Conference on Compassion and Technology for Patients, Family and Caregivers, Nov. 3 and 4, 2020
    Listen to the experiences of patients, families and caregivers during COVID-19 and make recommendations for a more compassionate healthcare system.
    Find out more here

  • 2020 Conference Themes

    2020 Conference Themes

    Tectonic shifts: rebuilding primary care in a new world
    (more…)

  • The Way Forward: Care Coordination Being Led by Primary Care Leadership Session Summary and LHIN Care Coordination Guidance Document

    AFHTO’s 2017 Annual Conference Leadership Session on care coordination generated enthusiasm and was relevant, timely and successful. The majority of AFHTO members are ready to ‘embed’ care coordinators and have made written commitments to advance discussions and plans that support local implementation of the Minister’s mandate letter. Most importantly, AFHTO members – governors, administrators, lead physicians and nurse practitioners – are actively seeking to enhance the relationship, engagement and communications within, and across LHINs, on care coordination and other topics impacting the patient experience in primary care. Earlier this week the LHINs were provided with a guidance document entitled Connecting Care Coordination in Primary Care Settings: Guidance for Ontario’s Local Health Integration Network – this document is intended to guide LHINs in developing plans to enable stronger connections between care coordinators and primary care. LHINs are being charged with quite a few deliverables before the end of the fiscal year, including completing a readiness assessment with primary care looking at improving relationships and connections with care coordinators, with the intention of embedding these providers where possible. The interprofessional team-based models of FHTs, NPLCs, CHCs and AHACs have also been identified as the target groups for early implementation. With the guidance document now out, the LHINs need to be engaging with our teams in order to meet their mandate letter deliverable, so they’re interested in hearing from you. To support your ongoing conversations with the LHINs, and to articulate how FHTs and NPLCs are more than ready to be at the forefront of primary care/care coordination integration, please find attached the summary report from the October 25th Leadership Session – The Way Forward: Care Coordination Being Led by Primary Care.  This summary report will also be shared with policy makers at the Ministry, as well as all LHIN CEOs and their senior management team. We encourage our FHT and NPLC leadership to use this report and request a meeting with your LHINs to keep the conversation going and to speak to the commitments that were developed during the session. If you have any questions or need assistance in moving forward with this really important initiative, please contact us at info@afhto.ca.  Please also let us know about your ongoing conversations so we can keep a pulse on what is happening in the province.

  • Health Link Leaders: Tools, Resources and Updates

    This section provides tools, resources and updates for Health Link leaders to support knowledge translation and promote a culture of continuous learning. Materials to support the members of the Health Link Community of Practice (CoP) will be posted here.

    October 2, 2016: AFHTO’s Health Links CoP to Wind Down

    AFHTO is currently facing a number of priorities. In particular, we are focused on advocacy, education, and support regarding the implementation of Patients First and the implications for our member teams in terms of governance, accountability, and relationships with their LHINs. Given this, and given that Health Quality Ontario (HQO) has established a robust Health Links Community of Practice, we have made the decision to wind down ours. This will allow us to maintain our focus while mitigating the duplication of effort between AFHTO and HQO. Members of this CoP are invited to join HQO’s Health Links Community of Practice and participate in their webinar series Transitions between Hospital to Home. Part 1 of this series will take place on Friday, October 14 from 12:00-1:00pm; Part 2 will take place on Wednesday, November 16 at the same time. The attached flyer contains information about the topics and guest speakers. Register for the webinars here, or email HQO for more information. Going forward, AFHTO will continue to monitor Health Links developments for potential relevance to primary care, and we will work with HQO to ensure that the role of primary care organizations as leaders and sponsors of Health Links is recognized and supported. We will also maintain the resources on this page, so please check back here for updates related to primary care. In future, we may re-assess the need for a Health Links Community of Practice specifically for FHTs and NPLCs, and if we determine that one is needed, we will reconvene it at that time. In the meantime, we encourage you to get involved with HQO’s Health Links Community of Practice and make sure that your voice – the voice of team-based primary care – is heard.

    Health Link Leaders: Forming a Link (News)

    Health Links Target Population

    Advancing Health Links

    Health Links in Action (Barrie & Community FHT)

    The Barrie Community Health Links and the Barrie and Community Family Health Team are producing a series of patient story videos entitled Health Links in Action.  The first in the series is called Evelyn. The Barrie Community Health Link are in their third year, and they have seen significant success in terms of cost savings and systems impact, providing evidence of the need for continued investment in Health Links.  However, perhaps the greatest testimonial for the incredible work that is being done is from patients and their families. Please feel free to share the link to this video.

    Resources from Hamilton Health Links

    You can access a number of resources on Coordinated Care Planning, Patient & Community Engagement, Quality Improvement, Privacy, and other interesting articles by clicking on the link below. These  have been created by the Hamilton Health Link and are posted for information and use by other AFHTO members: http://hchealthlink.ca/.

    Resources from East Toronto Health Link

    Resources developed by East Toronto Health Link on Advanced Care Planning (ACP):

    Integrated Care

    Integrated Care in Norway – this article discusses the mandatory multidisciplinary plan for individual care, the “Individual Care Plan” introduced by law in Norway. The regulation was established to meet the need for improved efficiency and quality of health and social services, and to increase patient involvement. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3107091/)

    Health Links Conference

    The Longwoods Ways & Means to Enable Health Links conference was held on February 26th. Click here for the Longwoods summary of the day and Ontario Health Links Infographic. The presentation slides from the conference are available online here.

    Health systems Performance Research Network

    A series of 3 reports published by the Health System Performance Research Network to assess the value that Ontario’s Health Links add to the system.

    HQO Reports on Progress of Health Links

    Articles

      If you have any questions or wish to submit additional resources, please contact Bryn Hamilton, Provincial Lead Governance & Leadership: bryn.hamilton@afhto.ca  

  • Advanced Health Links Guide

    On November 12th the Ministry of Health & Long Term Care (MOHLTC) released the Guide to the Advanced Health Links Model to build on the momentum of Health Links and evolve it to a more mature state of operation and to support the delivery of care to all of Ontario’s complex patients. The Guide elaborates on the Advanced Health Links Model that was introduced at the June 18th ministry and LHIN hosted webinar. Overall, the Advanced Health Links Model outlines activities in 4 areas: Standardizes key components of the Health Links Model to enable greater levels of consistency;

    • Pg 10: proposes guidelines to facilitate the identification of the target complex patient population.
    • Pg 12: streamlines the governance and responsibilities of Health Links lead organizations

    Enhances accountability for performance through a strengthened performance management framework;

    • Pg 11: Introduces 3 new indicators:
    1. Reduction of 30-day readmissions to hospital;
    2. Reduction in home care visits referral time; and,
    3. Reduction in the number of ED visits for conditions best managed elsewhere.
    • Pg 15: “ensuring Health Links performance measures are aligned and advance other ministry priorities including a strengthened primary care sector and modernized home and community care.”

    Redesigns the Health Links Funding Model to support LHIN accountability and scaled-up Health Links across the province; and,

    • Pg 17: introduces sustainability planning

    Facilitates adoption and alignment of the Health Links model to support wider ministry and government priorities and system integration.

    • Pg 18: “Strengthened accountability and performance in primary care: work will be done to situate and align the Advanced Health Links Model with the work underway to support a strengthened primary care sector.”

    Over 2015/16, the ministry will work with LHINs and Health Links to facilitate transition to the Advanced Health Links Model. Health Quality Ontario (HQO) is a critical partner in this work, and will develop a number of tools and in-field supports to aid LHINs and Health Links with transition. AFHTO’s Health Link CoP will also continue to provide support as needed to our member Health Link leaders throughout the transition to the Advanced Health Links Model.