Ultimate Blogging Championship

Tag: Highlights

  • South East Toronto FHT partners with community to open pregnancy clinic

    Feb. 3 – Premier Kathleen Wynne helped open a new pregnancy clinic in Thorncliffe Park, an initiative driven by South East Toronto FHT and their partners. The neighbourhood has the highest birth rate and highest proportion of children under age 14 in Toronto. Partners include The Midwives Clinic of East York — Don Mills, Toronto East General Hospital, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Flemingdon Community Health Centre and South Riverdale Community Health Centre. Click here for further details.

  • Ensuring access to team-based primary care

    AFHTO continues to give top priority to advocacy for increased funding to enable our members to recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver comprehensive team-based primary care. AFHTO members have been highly effective in meeting with their local MPPs to raise awareness and political pressure.  AFHTO, together with our collaborators in interprofessional primary care – AOHC and NPAO – continue to find every opportunity to press the issue, together with our recommended solution. Today, AFHTO presented to the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs regarding the Pre-Budget Consultations on the urgent need for sufficient funding to enable primary care organizations to attract and keep these professionals. Click here to access AFHTO’s submission.

    On February 5, AFHTO responded to a column in the Toronto Star about home and community care and the current strike by workers in 10 Community Care Access Centres – Eric Hoskins’ best chance to fix the ailing health system. Our letter emphasizes the critical role of primary care, and points out how the work of primary care teams has been grossly undervalued in relation to other parts of Ontario’s health system.

    Please continue to do your part in this campaign. Click here to access resources to help you as you meet with or write to your local MPP.

    Ontario Budget Talks portal: AFHTO members have your say and ask the government to address recruitment and retention The Ontario government has recently opened Budget Talks 2015, an online portal for Ontarians to offer feedback to the government on 2015/16 budget planning. In keeping with the work already begun, you can visit Budget Talks 2015 to lend your voice to the call to support recruitment and retention in primary care teams and/or vote for messages posted by your peers:

  • Quality improvement in primary care – Summary of 2014-15 QIPs

    Jan. 8 – Health Quality Ontario has released reports summarizing the quality improvement plans (QIPs) submitted this year by health care organizations across Ontario. The Insights into Quality Improvement – Key Observations: 2014-15 Quality Improvement Plans are reports that span acute hospitals, inter-professional primary care organizations, home care, and long-term care and are part of HQO’s new quality improvement plan report series highlighting emerging trends, lessons learned, and opportunities for quality improvement across Ontario’s health sectors. This is the second year that inter-professional primary care organizations submitted QIPs. The primary care report provides information on  what providers in Ontario are focusing on to improve quality of care, what change ideas may lead to improvements in future years, and where there may be opportunities to learn from others.

  • Seasons greetings from AFHTO

    2014-12-19 - holiday greeting-FINAL v2 Wishing a joyful holiday to you, your family and community!  

  • External evaluation report on family health teams is now available

    The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has released the report: An External Evaluation of the Family Health Teams (FHT) Initiative. It is a longitudinal study over the period from Dec. 2008 to November 2013, prepared by the Conference Board of Canada under contract to the ministry. AFHTO has prepared a summary of this 311-page report. The FHT evaluation report shows clear evidence of improvement over the study period, 2009-2012:

    • Patient survey data suggests the ability to get same-day appointments in FHTs ranks among the best in the world for primary care. 79% of patients reported they could get a same day appointment. This compares to 40% for Ontario (and 72% for top-performing Germany) in Health Quality Ontario’s Measuring Up report
    • FHTs are offering a wider range of programs and services to promote health and manage chronic disease. Interprofessional teams make it possible to bring together the variety of skills needed to help people stay as healthy as possible

    AFHTO welcomes this release. The FHT evaluation report provides further evidence and direction for the Ministry, AFHTO, FHTs and other primary care organizations together with their associations, on what is needed to continue to improve. We have better understanding of factors that have improved patient experience in accessing care, including strong leadership, team culture, use of patient data, and provider involvement in quality improvement activities. The most notable findings indicate that staff make the biggest difference to patient experience; however recruitment and retention of staff is particularly challenging. The FHT evaluation report’s findings reinforce those of previous AFHTO reports – below-market compensation is a problem; adequate funding is needed to solve it. Improvement continues. Since August 2013, this has been greatly assisted through government funding for Quality Improvement Decision Support (QIDS) Specialists and AFHTO’s provincial QIDS and Governance + Leadership programs. The AFHTO membership is advancing to achieve optimal quality, access and total cost of care, in line with public and patient expectations. Click below to link to further information:

  • St. Michael’s Academic FHT’s income security project profiled in the Toronto Star

    Dec. 15 – St. Michael’s Academic Hospital FHT was profiled for their work addressing patients’ income security in the Toronto Star. Dr. Andrew Pinto and Karen Tomlinson (both of whom presented on this project at AFHTO’s 2014 conference) along with Dr. Gary Bloch were all recognized for their innovative focus on one of the key social determinants of health. Click here for further details.

  • HQO Releases Report On End-of-Life Care in Ontario

    Dec. 15 – Health Quality Ontario’s (HQO) End-of-Life Health Care in Ontario report was released today. Click here to download the full report and recommendations. The report addresses where the health system must improve to ensure the best end-of-life care for all Ontarians, and highlights the need for an increased number of professionals trained in palliative care. The report also identifies the need for a more patient-engaged approach to end-of-life care, encouraging productive, informed conversations about end-of-life care between patients, their loved ones and their care providers. The End-of-Life Health Care in Ontario report is accompanied by recommendations from HQO’s Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee (OHTAC) and builds on important work by Cancer Care Ontario, the Local Health Integration Networks, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, and the Ontario Medical Association, among others. For more information:

  • OCFP recognises family health teams at Annual Scientific Assembly

    On Thursday, November 27, 2014 the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) held their 2014 President’s Installation and Awards Ceremony as part of their 52nd Annual Scientific Assembly. Family health teams and their affiliated physicians figured prominently in the proceedings, not the least of which was London Family Health Team’s Dr. Cathy Faulds who has been installed as OCFP’s new president.

    Congratulations are due to McMaster Family Health Team, recognized as Family Practice of the Year and to the Jane and Finch Family Health Team which received an honourable mention in this category. Dr. William Ted Osmun of Thames Valley Family Health Team was named Ontario Family Physician of the Year as well as Regional Family Physician of the Year. Among others named Regional Family Physicians of the Year were:

    • Dr. Tim Wehner, Sunset Country FHT
    • Dr. Dale Guenter, McMaster FHT
    • Dr. Kimberly Wintemute, North York FHT
    • Dr. Carl Clark, Barrie and Community FHT
    • Dr. Adam Steacie, Upper Canada FHT

    Congratulations as well to the following Award of Excellence recipients:

    • Dr. Judy Baird, McMaster FHT
    • Dr. Anne Duvall, Barrie and Community FHT
    • Dr. Sanjeev Goel, Wise Elephant FHT
    • Dr. D. Robert Kerr, Hamilton FHT
    • Dr. Frank Martino, Queen Square FHT
    • Dr. James Milligan, The Centre for Family Medicine FHT
    • Dr. Laurel Moore, STAR FHT
    • Dr. Douglas Oliver, McMaster FHT
    • Dr. David Tannenbaum, Mount Sinai Academic FHT
    • Dr. Nancy Trimble, Barrie and Community FHT

    Click here for further details.

  • AFHTO members participating in Ontario Low Back Pain pilot program

    Nov. 26 – The government of Ontario announced the launch of a pilot program as part of the province’s Low Back Pain Strategy. Six AFHTO member organizations will be participating in this pilot:

    The government announcement indicates that these organizations will be able to provide additional hours for a range of allied health providers such as chiropractors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, kinesiologists and registered massage therapists to:

    • Provide faster, more accurate assessment of low back pain problems
    • Use a more holistic approach to treating patients suffering from low back pain
    • Educate patients on low back pain self-management techniques
    • Refer patients to an appropriate health care provider as needed

    Click below for more information:

  • Comparing Health Quality Ontario’s new Measuring Up report to D2D 1.0 results

    Health Quality Ontario has just released its yearly report on Ontario’s health system, Measuring Up. The section on primary care presents indicators related to access to primary care, patient experience and recommended screening tests, with some comparisons at the LHIN, provincial and international levels.  Click here to view the full report. A number of these same indicators are reported specifically for AFHTO members in Data to Decisions 1.0: Advancing Primary Care (D2D 1.0), which enables team-level measurement and reporting. The table below compares the HQO and D2D 1.0 results.  Keep in mind D2D 1.0 was about getting started; while the results are generally positive, they are based on a self-selected sample of 50 teams and therefore possibly not representative of all members.  As work continues towards the next iteration (D2D 2.0), a larger sample of teams and more clarity about data quality will make comparisons to other groups more appropriate.  In the meantime, the initial pattern, should it continue, is encouraging!

    Timely access to primary care – encouraging results among AFHTO members

    D2D 1.0 reports significantly better performance in same day or next day access to care among the 50 AFHTO members who contributed these data, compared to Ontario primary care providers in general. International survey results reported by HQO indicate 40% of Ontario patients have same day or next day access to their primary care provider in Ontario, while D2D 1.0 results show 59% of patients from the reporting AFHTO members have same day or next day access. It’s no wonder the case study HQO uses to illustrate the impact of getting this timely access is a patient in a family health team! (Meet Theresa, Measuring Up, page 37)

    AFHTO members continue the journey toward manageable, meaningful measurement

    Data to Decisions allows teams to compare themselves with relevant peers and support efforts to improve quality. All members are invited to participate in a variety of ways, including contributing data. AFHTO is aiming to launch Data to Decisions 2.0 in May 2015.

    Comparing results

    The table below presents results from both reports for the comparable indicators.

    Ontario: HQO Measuring Up Report (see infographic for primary care results)

    AFHTO D2D 1.0: Advancing Primary Care (50 teams reporting)

    Timely access to primary care

    40% of those surveyed report that they are able to see their primary care provider on the same day or next day if they are sick (Figure 4.2, page 35).

    59% of patients responded they are able to see their primary care provider on the same day or next day if they are sick.

    Overall patient experience

    83% of surveyed Ontarians report that their provider always or often gives them the opportunity to ask questions (Figure 4.6A, page 40).

    87% of surveyed patients report that their provider always or often gives them the opportunity to ask questions.

    82% of surveyed Ontarians report that when they receive care, their provider always or often spends enough time with them (Figure 4.6B, page 41).

    87% of surveyed patients report that when they receive care, their provider always or often spends enough time with them.

    85% of surveyed Ontarians report that their provider always or often involves them in decisions regarding their care (Figure 4.6C, page 42).

    88% of surveyed patients report that their provider always or often involves them in decisions regarding their care.

    Colorectal cancer screening

    57.8% of eligible Ontarians had recommended colorectal cancer screening in the past year (Figure 4.7, page 44).

    64% of eligible Ontarians had recommended colorectal cancer screening in the past year.

    For more information on D2D and the indicator results, click here to go to the AFHTO members only website. (If you do not have your member login information, please email info@afhto.ca.) In addition to primary care, HQO’s Measuring Up report also covers health status, public health, hospital care, home care, long-term care, system integration and health workforce.