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Tag: Members Only News

  • Operating plan updates from quarterly meeting with MOHLTC FHT unit – February 28, 2014

    Primary objective of the meeting of FHT Directors (representing AFHTO and AOHC members) and MOHLTC’s FHT Unit concerned operating plan submissions and cash flow challenges in first half of next fiscal. Click here for the full report. One topic was staff compensation. AFHTO, together with AOHC and NPAO, is continuing to advocate at political levels on the challenges to recruiting and retaining the staff needed to fulfill government’s commitment to deliver interprofessional primary care.  (Click here to see the joint report and recommendations.) Recruitment and retention will also be a key message in AFHTO’s upcoming pre-election work – more on this to come.

    • Your help is needed to reinforce this message in your operating plans.  Section 5.1 of the submission package asks, “Is there anything else the Family Health Team would like to communicate to the ministry regarding their planned activities for 2014-2015?” If your FHT is facing recruitment and retention challenges, please use this as the opportunity to tell the Ministry about your concerns, and illustrate with specific stories. For example, point out:
      • vacancies you have experienced and their impact on the FHT’s ability to deliver care
      • better-paid positions that staff members have left to take
      • likelihood of losing staff in the next year (e.g. is there recruiting in other sectors in your community that’s threatening to draw staff from the FHT)
      • We have gained some traction on this issue, and your reinforcement with real-life illustrations will help. After entering it into your plan, please send a copy of your stories to info@afhto.ca so we can draw from them in our on-going work.

    Other topics covered in the full report include:

    • Funding for additional QIDS positions and overhead costs for QIDS employers
    • Clarification of what the funding priority — “Innovative low cost expansion opportunities” — means
    • Restitution of specialist sessional funding
    • Guidance for FHTs incorporating Diabetes Education Programs
    • Funding, cash flow and audit requirements Health Link leads
    • Accountability Reform Initiative
    • And more … click to read the full report

  • Help for your operating plan development: QIDS and Accountability Reform

    As you finalize your 2014-15 operating plan proposals over the next three weeks, here is help to:

    • Strengthen your case for Quality Improvement Decision Support (QIDS) positions
    • Meet the Accountability Reform Initiative requirements
    • Learn more about incorporating chiropractic services in primary care

    Increasing access to QIDS positions Click here to access advice for both AFHTO members and the ministry on allocating additional QIDS positions for both FHTs and NPLCs.  The ministry has stated building quality improvement capacity will be one of the priorities for “the limited resources available for new investments.” This new report presents the facts about the current state of the QIDS program – the make-up of QIDS partnerships, the number of FHTs, EMRs, physicians and rostered patients per QIDS FTE, and the current status of partnership agreements. The advice has been developed with feedback from AFHTO members on the QIDS Steering Committee, ED Advisory Council and at the QIDS Host Town Hall. If you are not part of a QIDS partnership and are seeking to join one, or if you are part of a partnership seeking additional QIDS capacity, this report will provide you with useful information. FHT Accountability Reform Application Package FHTs interested in moving towards greater budget flexibility must complete the Accountability Reform package included with the operating plan 2014/15. (This option is not yet available to NPLCs but is being considered for the following fiscal year.)  The application should reflect the work that you have completed over the years to ensure sound governance and accountability. If you have any questions about the application, you can contact AFHTO’s Governance and Leadership Lead at bryn.hamilton@afhto.ca Completing the application will also help identify development needs. Fundamentals of Governance  is now available on line to give teams the tools and resources to improve governance and address the deficiencies identified this year in the ministry accountability assessment.  The toolkit, guidance documents and peer facilitator support will ensure that primary care organizations can meet the requirements for the next fiscal year. Chiropractic in Primary Care The Ontario Chiropractic Association has produced a brochure on the role chiropractors could play on interprofessional teams. In the past other health professions have created similar resources for teams to consider incorporating their professions into the primary care team.

  • Save the date: Webinar on overcoming privacy issues in partnership agreements

    Save the date for a provincial webinar on  March 21, 2014:

    “Overcoming Privacy issues in partnership agreements”

    AFHTO is pleased to announce this important learning opportunity open to all members. The presenter is Kate Dewhirst from Dykeman Dewhirst O’Brien LLP (DDO Health Law). Kate’s area of expertise is in managing privacy and legal compliance with health privacy legislation and how it uniquely applies to FHTs, FHOs/FHNs and their activities. The session will focus on the privacy considerations in implementing the quality improvement decision support (QIDS) program, such as Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs), barriers & challenges, as well as tools & templates for data sharing, and more. The recently completed standard Memorandum of Understanding form for QIDSS Partnerships will also be discussed. The webinar will take place on March 21st from 9 am to 10 am EST. Please mark this date in your calendars. Details on how to register will be shared shortly. We look forward to your attendance.

  • Training and resource materials available for primary care

    Scroll down for a variety of training opportunities and resources for primary care:

    • Workplace Health & Safety Training sessions
    • Primary Care Nurse Education Fund applications open until March 31, 2014
    • Cancer screening awareness campaign resources for motivating patients
    • H-CARDD Atlas of Primary Care of Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Ontario
    • Open for Comment: HQO/OHTAC recommendations on Point-of-Care Hemoglobin A1c Testing (until February 17, 2014)

    Register Now for Upcoming Workplace Health & Safety Training Sessions

    The Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) provides free workplace health and safety expertise to Ontario public service sector employers and workers. PSHSA offers a wide variety of free training, products and consulting services to meet guidelines established by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and enforced by the Ministry of Labour. Click here for the full training catalogue. Free Healthcare Webinars:

    Primary Care Nurse Education Fund applications open until March 31, 2014

    The Nursing Education Initiative Grant Program is funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOH). The program provides education grants to support nurses’ knowledge and skills through professional development. Eligible primary care RNs can apply for up to $1,500 in funding through RNAO and eligible primary care RPNs can apply through RPNAO. Registrants are encouraged to apply to the Fund for the upcoming Primary Care Nurse Institute (March 23-28th)

    Cancer Screening awareness campaign resources to motivate your patients

    The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), in partnership with CCO, launched their new Integrated Cancer Screening campaign, encouraging Ontarians to speak with their health care providers about getting screened for breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer. Research tells us that people are more likely to do something, like get screened, if they are motivated to do so by their health care provider. The links below connect you with the campaign material, as well as additional information you may find useful, including the ministry’s resources for breast, cervical and colorectal screening, as well as CCO’s screening guidelines.

    H-CARDD’s Atlas of Primary Care of Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Ontario

    The Health Care Access Research and Developmental Disabilities (H-CARDD) program released a landmark study of the health status and health care use of over 66,000 adults with developmental disabilities across the province.  The report concludes that, while primary care providers are pivotal to achieving needed changes, the broader health care context that supports primary care provision also needs to be considered. A summary of the Atlas of is now available online at www.hcardd.ca.

    Open for Comment: Draft report and OHTAC recommendations on Point-of-Care Hemoglobin A1c Testing

    Health Quality Ontario’s draft report and OHTAC recommendations on Point-of-Care Hemoglobin A1c Testing is open for comment until February 17, 2014. HQO invites you to submit comments to OHTAC_Comments@hqontario.ca.

  • MOHLTC survey on Minister’s Medal Honouring Excellence in Health Quality and Safety

    Message from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Health Quality Branch: In 2013 the Minister’s Medal recognition program was launched. The program received a tremendous response from the field with 140 applications submitted from across the province. To improve on the success in the first year of the program and to inform the development process for the 2014 program, we have developed a short survey to evaluate the inaugural Minister’s Medal and to gain further insight into how the program can be improved going forward. I hope you are able to take approximately 5 minutes to complete this short survey. We value your feedback and greatly appreciate you taking the time to support this program. Please click the following link to access the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QCQ8XRX

  • QIDS Innovation Fund: First Projects Approved

    The QIDS Innovation Fund is intended to create and test ways to advance measurement and improvement capacity, and from this, enable all members to benefit from better tools, knowledge and capability.   AFHTO members responded to the invitation to apply with 18 proposals that addressed these goals and then some! The AFHTO Board would like to thank and congratulate all those who took the time to make proposals. Three projects have been identified for immediate support. These fast-tracked projects were selected both for the strength of their proposals and their potential to benefit the QIDS strategy and AFHTO members as a whole. Projects that have been identified for immediate support are:

    Minimum Data Set Lead:  Mary Keith, Executive Director, Garden City Family Health Team

    This is a project aimed at determining both the readiness and priorities of the various Family Health Teams in LHIN 4 regarding a minimum measurable set of data items needed to track specific chronic conditions. Data collection will occur through an online questionnaire. Results of the MDS project should be ready by mid April 2014 and will provide our group with metrics for care management that will assist in the planning and implementation of projects for quality improvement in patient care.

    This project is being led by Mary Keith, with the assistance of Urslin Fevrier-Thomas and Karl Langton, both from the Hamilton FHT.  For more information contact Mary at mkeith@gardencityfht.com, Urslin at urslin.fevrierthomas@hamiltonfht.ca or Karl at Karl.Langton@HamiltonFHT.ca.

    Performance Management Framework and Dashboard- A data storybook and performance song sheet! Lead: Heba Sadek, Executive Director, Queen’s Square Family Health Team

    In the absence of a structural tool that enables organizations to organize and understand their accountability requirements, the response to quality initiatives can be frustrating and ad hoc. Through this initiative Queen Square and its partners: Dufferin Area, Halton Hills and North Peel Family Health Teams will identify a common framework for data mapping that will show how different indicators are used to meet different accountability requirements. Clinicians’ input will also be sought in indicator development and standardization that meets their needs and aligns with the Primary Care Performance framework.

    For more information contact Heba Sadek at HSadek@queensquarefht.ca

    Patient Encounter and Reporting Tracking System: Lead: Michelle Karker, Executive Director, East Wellington Family Health Team

    The East Wellington Family Health Team (EWFHT) has been a leader in the development of tools to extract data from its EMR, including data that is now required for Quality Improvement Plans and Ministry reporting. Advanced prototypes are already in existence. This project funding will enable EWFHT to further refine the programming and respond to the requests to share these tools across with its QIDS partners and potentially across the province.

    For further information contact Michelle Karker at michelle.karker@ewfht.ca.

    Congratulations go out to this first group of teams. Another group of proposals has been short-listed. Stay tuned! A special thanks goes to the review panel which was chaired by Ross Kirkconnell, Executive Director, Guelph Family Health Team and included Brenda Fraser, Central West LHIN (well known to many from her work at QIIP) and Darren Larsen of OntarioMD and the OMA. “It was really difficult to pick and choose. We had such a great mix of ideas and initiatives which speaks very highly of the sector’s readiness to take on these types of challenges. There simply wasn’t enough money to support all the great ideas.” Watch the AFHTO members only web-site for progress updates and knowledge sharing opportunities on these exciting projects.

  • Supporting improvement: updates on QIPs, QIDS, PC Nursing Education Fund, Primary Care-Public Health conference

    There are many new resources and learning opportunities for AFHTO members, here is some reading for over the holidays to help prepare for the New Year (scroll down for further details):

    • Quality Improvement Planning (QIP) – Navigator and Guidance Materials now available
    • RNAO-MOHLTC Primary Care Fund to augment the Nursing Education Initiative
    • Quality Improvement Decision Support Specialists’ (QIDSS) Symposium, January 20 to 22, 2014
    • Prevent More to Treat Less: Public Health and Primary Health Care Conference, June 4 & 5, 2014

    Quality Improvement Planning (QIP) – Navigator and Guidance Materials now available Login information for the Health Quality Ontario (HQO) QIP Navigator has been sent to all primary care organizations. All QIPs will need to be submitted through the QIP Navigator by April 1, 2014.  If you have any difficulties logging in or have not received your password please e-mail QIP@HQOntario.ca for assistance. QIP templates and guidance documents can also be accessed directly online: http://qipnavigator.hqontario.ca/Resources/PrimaryCareSector.aspx RNAO-MOHLTC Primary Care Fund The Ministry has provided additional one-time funding to augment the Nursing Education Initiative (NEI) to support Ontario’s primary care registered nurses to refine their knowledge, skills and competencies; as a step towards enabling full scope of practice. Full rules are online; however, if a primary care RN has completed an educational program within the past 90 days they are encouraged to apply. Primary Care RNs could be eligible for up to $1500 in reimbursement and do not need to be an RNAO member to apply. Note that this is only for 2013/14, so applications submitted after March 15, 2014 may not be considered for the special funding. For complete details on the NEI and to apply, visit: www.rnao.ca/NEI Upcoming Events: January 20 to 22, 2014, Quality Improvement Decision Support Specialists’ (QIDSS) Symposium The QIDSS symposium is a unique opportunity for professional development tailored specifically to Quality Improvement Decision Support Specialists (QIDSS). It aims to optimize the utility of the QIDSS position in supporting host and partner FHTs in their QI efforts and investments. QIDSS will learn from industry experts, EMR vendors, and colleagues on industry standard best practices. The symposium also facilitates peer learning among specialists from across the province to support the new and evolving QIDSS role. Registration and program information have been e-mailed to QIDSS and host employers. June 4 & 5, 2014, Prevent More to Treat Less: Public Health and Primary Health Care Conference For the first time, Public Health and Primary Health Care will be hosting a joint conference focused on the shared vision of promoting the best possible health and wellbeing for everyone living in Ontario. This conference will take place June 4 & 5, 2014 at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North. It will include inspiring presentations, panel discussions, learning and networking sessions that will enable representatives from both sectors to learn from each other and share best collaborative practices on shared priorities. Please visit: preventmoretotreatless.ca to see the Call for Participation details on the themes and sub-themes, the types of sessions, and the criteria that will be used to evaluate the submissions. The online submission form will be open in the New Year and a notification will be sent when it is live. In the meantime, please start brainstorming your presentations and reaching out to potential co-presenters.

  • QIP Navigator and Guidance Materials now available

    Login information for the Health Quality Ontario (HQO) QIP Navigator has been sent to all primary care organizations. All QIPs will need to be submitted through the QIP Navigator by April 1, 2014.  If you have any difficulties logging in or have not received your password please e-mail QIP@HQOntario.ca for assistance. QIP templates and guidance documents can also be accessed directly online: http://qipnavigator.hqontario.ca/Resources/PrimaryCareSector.aspx

  • Ontario Heart Failure Strategy: Invitation to complete survey

    Forwarded on behalf of Cardiac Care Network of Ontario: In the next few months, the Cardiac Care Network of Ontario (CCN) will be releasing the Ontario Heart Failure Strategy. With no cohesive provincial approach to managing heart failure (HF), the current system of care is fragmented with patients often falling through the cracks during transitions leading to suboptimal care and resulting in potentially avoidable Emergency Department use, hospitalizations, and diminished quality of life. One of the solutions to addressing barriers to optimal HF care is the identification of how and where care is currently being provided. The easy part is finding self-identified Heart Failure Clinics and Specialists who are managing HF. While this is valuable information, we believe the true key to successfully designing a province-wide HF management system that will function in a large and heterogeneous province like Ontario lies with Primary Care Practitioners. This is where we need your help. We want to make sure that any Primary Care Practitioner in the province of Ontario who has an interest or expertise in HF will take this survey. The ultimate goal is to collate the results into a map of HF services across the province. This will make it easier for patients and healthcare providers to locate and access care, and will inform opportunities to enhance or augment services in communities that are lacking access. The link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CCNHeartFailure.  It takes about 20 minutes to complete. We thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey. Your efforts will help to ensure that we generate a complete and accurate list of HF providers in the province. ______________________________________________________________ Sudha Kutty Director, Knowledge Management Cardiac Care Network http://www.ccn.on.ca

  • QIDS Update 2013-11-26: EMR Landscape Report + QIDS Innovation Funding

    REMINDER:  Opportunity to apply for QIDS Innovation Funding

    A few days ago AFHTO announced the availability of $95,000 in QIDS Innovation Funding. Note that this one-time opportunity is very time sensitive. Interested applicants will need to notify Tim Burns (tim.burns@afhto.ca) of their intent to apply by December 6, 2013. This initiative will serve as a catalyst for collaboration and system capacity building. Every effort is being made to maintain a simple, yet transparent and open process for the allocation of these funds. All members, regardless of current QI or EMR sophistication are encouraged to consider applying or joining with peers to submit an application. It is anticipated that three to five projects will be supported. 

    Please refer to the QIDS Innovation Submission Process and Guidelines on the AFHTO members-only web-site for more detail. FHT EMR Landscape Report A first report on the FHT EMR Landscape is now available. AFHTO received over 120 suggestions for topics for discussion with EMR vendors at the October conference. The EMR sessions themselves were attended by over 330 individuals. The first FHT EMR Landscape Report will include an early analysis of gaps in adoption and functionality across EMRs. We look forward to your feedback as we would like to develop this into a regular report to share with members and our partners at OntarioMD and eHealth Ontario. QIDS Steering Committee Update The QIDS Steering Committee, Chaired by Ross Kirkconnell, had its first meeting on October 21. The group agreed to re-convene in the New Year for a more in-depth discussion of the six strategic themes that are emerging for the QIDS program:

    1. Collaboration and leadership

    2. Building QI Decision Support Capacity and Capability

    3. Optimizing the current state

    4. Identifying early opportunities to report on indicators and improving them over time

    5.  Aligning our partners and supply chain

    6. Innovating to create access to new data sources, tools and knowledge.

    QIDS Specialists in the field We are also delighted to hear from more and more QIDS Specialists and others in the decision support community in our weekly check-ins. For the list of QIDS Specialists and other decision support specialists across the province, please sign into the AFHTO members-only website then go to https://www.afhto.ca/news-events/news/library/qids/qids-specialist-team/.

    Please contact Denise Pinto (improve@afhto.ca) to be added to our weekly check-in group. Coming up: Privacy Resources: Depending on the local context and the goals of the QIDS partnerships, it is possible that complex privacy issues and concerns could be raised by the partners. In order to provide additional support and build our collective expertise, AFHTO will be retaining the services of a privacy expert. Please continue to make us aware of these issues and concerns as well as any solutions that you are implementing so that we can build the provincial knowledge base.

    Implementation of QIDS Partnerships: The provincial team is very interested in identifying practical means to support the evolution of QIDS partnerships. Tim Burns and Carol Mulder are reaching out to all QIDS hosts to gain a better understanding of successes and challenges in partnership implementation. We are aware that a number of very encouraging agreements are nearing fruition. Members are encouraged to share these documents with the provincial team as they become available so that they can serve as examples for others.  The team is also available to help facilitate partnership discussion where this may be of assistance. For a more detailed update and to keep abreast of developments in the QIDS program, please visit https://www.afhto.ca/news-events/news//qids/