Ultimate Blogging Championship

Tag: Team Collaboration

  • Bits & Pieces: virtual care guidance and more

    Bits & Pieces: virtual care guidance and more

    Your Weekly News & Updates

    In This Issue  
    • Clinically appropriate use of virtual care guidance for primary care
    • Resources addressing children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen shortage
    • Nurse Practitioner Week
    • Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement
    • Member stories
    • Reminder – Highlights and implications of the Ontario Science Table’s brief on primary care, Nov. 30
    • Updated COVID-19 vaccine guidance and more
    • Reminder – seeking input on how to improve person-centred osteoarthritis care
    • Hospice Palliative Care Ontario call for abstracts
    • Public Health 2023 call for submissions
    • Upcoming events including The Critical Role of Primary Care in Preventing Caregiver Burnout and more

    Clinically appropriate use of virtual care guidance for primary care

    Today Ontario Health released the much anticipated ‘Clinically Appropriate Use of Virtual Care Guidance for Primary Care’- EN FR.  The materials are intended to support primary care clinicians to make deliberate and purposeful decisions in the planning and delivery of virtual care.

    This is ‘phase one’ of the virtual care guidance for primary care –more detailed virtual care guidance will be released in the future, including materials focused on other specialties and areas of care.

    You can also watch Drs Kaplan and Bordman speak about the guidance document during the November 9th OH Community of Practice. Click here for the recording.

    Resources addressing children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen shortage

    NPAO Celebrating Nurse Practitioner Week NPAO.ORG. Text beside picture of a smiling woman in mask and cap

     

    Nurse Practitioner Week

    Thank you to all the NPs working in primary care teams for your passion, your dedication, and your ongoing commitment to excellent patient-centred care! Happy Nurse Practitioner Week!

     

     

     

     

     

    Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement
    On Monday, the Minister of Finance tabled Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement (FES) entitled Ontario’s Plan to Build: A Progress Update.

    In the last few years, FES has been used as a “mini budget” with new investments. This year, it returned to being what it is called: an economic statement. It repeated campaign commitments and noted the number of new healthcare workers, acute care beds, and long-term care homes under development. There was nothing new about health care and no mention of mental health and addiction.

    AFHTO and partners will continue advocacy to hopefully see meaningful commitments in the spring budget. For a synopsis of the FES, please read Enterprise Canada’s highlights.

    Member stories

    Minto-Mapleton FHT– Filling the Gaps in Access to Rural Mental Healthcare– featuring their NP and counsellor

    Peterborough FHT – The front door to health care is broken

    Reminder-Highlights and implications of the Ontario Science Table’s brief on primary care, Nov. 30

    On October 3, 2022, the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table (OST) released its final brief, a 3-part exploration of how primary care responded to and was affected by the pandemic, and implications for ongoing health system planning and policy. In this webinar, you will hear from a panel of primary healthcare experts who contributed to that brief, as they share some of the most significant findings and implications. Register here.

    Updated COVID-19 vaccine guidance and more

    Recent updates include:

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

    Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates– the original page, with news and updates. You can find links to related pages here as well.

    Hospice Palliative Care Ontario call for abstracts

    Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO) is accepting submissions for presentations at their 2023 Annual Conference, Now is the Time, on June 11-13, 2023. More details here. Deadline Dec. 5, 2022.

    Public Health 2023 call for submissions

    Canadian Public Health Association is accepting submissions for Public Health 2023, taking place virtually June 20-22, 2023. For more details, please visit their site. Deadline Jan. 12, 2023.

    Reminder – seeking input on how to improve person-centred osteoarthritis care

    Per UHN:
    “Dr. Anna Gagliardi at University Health Network (UHN) is recruiting healthcare professionals for a one-time 20-minute phone interview for a research study about how to improve person-centred osteoarthritis (OA) care. During the interview, we will ask you for your perspectives, experiences, and recommendations regarding strategies to improve care for immigrant women affected by osteoarthritis.

    You are eligible for this study if you:
    — Are a family physician, nurse practitioner, or community pharmacist who works with patients with osteoarthritis
    OR
    — Are a healthcare executive, healthcare manager, or policymaker who oversees osteoarthritis services

    For more information or to express interest in participating, please contact the study coordinator, Madeline Theodorlis, by email: madeline.theodorlis@uhn.ca. Please note that information sent by email may be accessible by external parties and therefore not entirely secure. Many thanks for your consideration.”

    Infection Prevention & Control in Primary Care, Nov. 23, 2022
    Hosted by Hamilton FHT and Public Health Ontario. Find out more here.

    Evaluating program planning using an equity framework, Nov. 23, 2022
    To plan for an expansion of healthcare services in newly developed neighbourhoods, a planning initiative was conducted to better understand the needs of the population. Ensuring equity of care was identified as a priority for this initiative.

    CCHL Forum webinar featuring speakers from Ontario Health, North York FHT and Queen Square FHT. Register here.

    Supporting Caregivers Supports Patients- The Critical Role of Primary Care in Preventing Caregiver Burnout, Nov. 24

    Co-hosted by The Ontario Caregiver Organization and the Primary Care Collaborative, this webinar will include insights from a caregiver with lived experience, as well as examples of primary care initiatives across Ontario that are connecting caregivers to support. Register here.

    Climate Conscious Inhaler Prescribing, Dec. 8

    Metered dose inhalers produce significant carbon emissions. Ironically, these contribute to changes to the climate that can exacerbate respiratory conditions. Simple practice changes can help disrupt this cycle and lessen the health sector’s contributions to climate change.

    Register here.

  • QI in Action eBulletin #121: Primary Care Ontario Practice-Based Learning and Research Network (POPLAR)

    QI in Action eBulletin #121: Primary Care Ontario Practice-Based Learning and Research Network (POPLAR)

    In this Issue:

    • What is POPLAR and How to Join
    • Examining the Work Done by Interprofessional Healthcare Providers
    • Pan-Canadian Study on Outpatient Interventions for Mild to Moderate COVID-19
    • CareCanvas: A New Tool to Support Practice Improvement
    • Upcoming Events

     

    What is POPLAR and How to Join
    Content below developed by POPLAR

    The Primary Care Ontario Practice-based Learning and Research Network (POPLAR) is an initiative of Ontario’s six University Departments/Sections of Family Medicine and the Alliance for Healthier Communities. POPLAR works with clinicians, researchers, and policy makers, providing information on the vital work primary care does, while supporting practices in delivering optimal care across Ontario.

    POPLAR securely collects and de-identifies electronic medical record (EMR) data. Currently, over 1,000 primary care providers are contributing EMR data for over 1.5 million patients to the POPLAR database. The time and effort it takes to safely and securely contribute is minimal. All you need do is fill out a consent form and a brief survey; POPLAR staff will coordinate data extraction at your practice, with all safeguards in place.

    If you are interested in registering, or if you would like to find out more information about POPLAR, please visit www.poplarnetwork.ca or contact info@poplarnetwork.ca.

    Collectively, primary care’s voice can be heard by providing safe and secure access to real-world data; this is possible with your help!  

    Examining the Work Done by Interprofessional Healthcare Providers in Primary Care Teams
    Content below developed by AFHTO & POPLAR

    Interprofessional Healthcare Providers (IHPs) are key members of interprofessional teams.  Disciplines include nursing, social work, clinical pharmacy, dietetics, chiropody and more. IHPs run programs that include, amongst others, diabetes education, mental health supports, and smoking cessation. However, the impact of patient encounters by IHPs and through IHP-led programs on health outcomes at a larger scale is challenging to capture.  

    Billing data are often used to measure and monitor services to patients provided by physicians on a provincial scale. Since IHPs do not bill OHIP, these data are of limited value for examining their work. AFHTO has been working on finding ways to show the value of interprofessional healthcare providers for many years and the standardized, cleaned, and curated provincial-level EMR data for analytics available through POPLAR provides an avenue to do this work.

    Currently, AFHTO is working with POPLAR on a project that involves developing methods to determine which encounters involved IHPs from which discipline, and what types of encounters these were. Larger scale information on IHP work can then be used to correlate patient outcomes and IHP activity. Knowing more about what IHPs do and their impact on patient care and outcomes is a key aspect of planning for team-based care across Ontario.

    To learn more about this project, visit us at the AFHTO Conference during Concurrent Session A: The Value of IHPs In Team-Based Primary Care: Large Scale Measurement and Effects on Outcomes.

    POPLAR to Help Lead Pan-Canadian Study of Outpatient Interventions for Mild to Moderate COVID-19

    Content below developed by CanTreatCOVID Team & POPLAR

    CanTreatCOVID Canadian Adaptive Platform Trial of Treatments for COVID in Community Settings To the left is a graphic of stylised molecule with pills at the center

    While public health measures and vaccines have reduced the impact of COVID-19, most scientists predict that new variants will continue to emerge, and that the virus will become endemic. The Canadian Adaptive Platform Trial of Treatments for COVID in Community Settings (CanTreatCOVID) spans 6 provinces across Canada and aims to identify effective and affordable out-patient medications for COVID-19 so that they can be made readily available in community settings, including for those at a higher risk for hospitalization and death.

    Currently, the evidence supporting existing medications is weak and provincial guidelines are complex, making decision-making by health care providers, provincial decision-makers, public health leaders, and patients extremely difficult. Adaptive platform trials (APTs) are designed to concurrently compare multiple interventions and allow the inclusion, exclusion, and removal of treatment arms over time-based on a decision algorithm. This makes APTs uniquely suited to studying medications for this novel and dynamic virus.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, APTs have been crucial in identifying what does and does not work in the treatment of COVID-19 among in-patients, and CanTreatCOVID hopes to replicate this success at the community level. The trial is open to Canadian residents aged 50 years and older, or between the ages of 18 and 49 with 1 or more chronic high-risk medical condition or immunosuppression. Eligible patients must also be within the first 5 days of experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 and test positive for the condition.

    In Ontario, building on work done in the past 10+ years, POPLAR will be supporting CanTreatCOVID’s multi-faceted recruitment strategy through prospective recruitment of patients using EMR data from its primary care research and learning networks.

    Recruitment of patients is set to launch in late 2022. To find out how you and your patients can participate, follow the project through their webpage and newsletter, or on Twitter using #CanTreatCOVID.

    CareCanvas: A New Tool to Support Practice Improvement

    Content below developed by the University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine & POPLAR

    The University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine and the POPLAR network are launching a new tool to support practice improvement. CareCanvas is an interactive web-based dashboard that summarizes clinical information from your practice EMR to make it easier to care for your patients. Three types of dashboards are available: one for physicians, one for clinics, and one for Ontario Health Teams.

    CareCanvas summarizes more than 15 quality of care measures including information on diabetes, hypertension, prescribing, and immunizations. You can see trends in your practice over time and can compare your practice to your peers. For some measures, you can see differences in care by age, gender, and neighbourhood income. Click here to view the dashboard.

    CareCanvas makes it easier for you to catch up on chronic disease and preventative care. Physicians can download a list of at-risk patients who would benefit from follow-up.

    CareCanvas is private, secure, and available at no cost. Physicians will be able to use their OneID account to sign-in. Data will be updated approximately every 6 months.

    To access CareCanvas, physicians need to use Telus Practice Solutions, Accuro, or Oscar and contribute their data to one of the seven Practice Based Research Networks that make up the POPLAR network.

    Starting in November, CareCanvas will be available to existing UTOPIAN contributors, with plans to expand the program to all of POPLAR in early 2023.  There is no limit to the number of physicians that can sign up and the value of CareCanvas will grow as more physicians participate and contribute data to POPLAR.

     

    Upcoming Events

    POPLAR Webinar Series: EDIIA in Research
    Equitably improving primary health care requires research and practice-based learning that are thoroughly grounded in the principles of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity, and Accessibility (EDIIA). POPLAR, Ontario’s provincial primary healthcare Practice-Based Learning and Research Network has the vision to advance equitable primary healthcare delivery and health outcomes for everyone in Ontario, and is hosting the following webinars for anyone who wants to learn more about building these principles into their work:

     
    Part 3: Embedding Equity in Leadership and Teams- Measuring EDIIA
    Wednesday, September 21, 2022, 12-1 pm | Dr. Nicole Kaniki, University of Toronto
    Learn more and register here.

    Part 4: EDIIA and Data – Building Capacity
    Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 12-1 pm | Dr. Andrew Pinto, Upstream Labs
    Learn more and register here.

    NPAO 2022 Annual Conference
    Thursday, September 22 to Friday September 23, 2022
    This year’s theme is The NP Experience: Pushing Boundaries Towards Common Goals. Find out more here.

    HSPN OHT Webinar: Leadership Survey Results
    Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 12-1:30 pm
    This webinar will provide new findings from the HSPN Organizing for Ontario Health Teams’ Survey comparing and contrasting current state with results from the same surveys undertaken in 2020 and 2021. Register here.

    OMD Digital Health and Virtual Care Conference
    Thursday, September 29 to Friday, September 30, 2022
    Learn how to take advantage of innovative technologies to realize more of their benefits and integrate them with your EMR workflows. Find out more here.
     
    AFHTO 2022 Conference
    Wednesday, October 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 here.

     

    In Case You Missed It: Check out eBulletin #120 or other back issues here!
    Questions? Comments? Contact us at improve@afhto.ca.

  • Help shape final recommendations for the next FHT contract! Sign up for a discussion group

    This email was sent to EDs/Admin Leads, lead clinicians and board chairs of AFHTO member teams.

    Dear triad members,
     
    Since last fall, AFHTO has been working with members and consultant Dale McMurchy to develop recommendations for the next FHT contract. The current contract expires in March 2023, and AFHTO will be providing recommended changes to the Ministry of Health this fall on behalf of our membership. Our input can influence the next stage in the evolution of interprofessional primary care.
     
    As part of the process, we have consulted with our FHT Contract Working Group (seven EDs in various models) since the beginning. We’ve held multiple consultations where we heard from well over 100 members, and we presented draft recommendations to our board in March. We have also received feedback from the ministry and kept the OMA involved in the conversations.
     
    Next, we’d like you to consider joining one of the three working groups we’re forming based on the top areas for advancement that have been identified and where further discussion is needed:
     
    Accountability and Performance Discussion Group

    • The goal is to work towards aligning current reporting and performance measures, standardizing expectations related to performance and accountability, and to have initial discussions towards laying the groundwork for developing a provincial primary care performance framework.
    • Key considerations will be the nature and timing of reporting, applicability, and level of evidence of performance measures, as well as the feasibility, effort, and resources needed.

     
    FHT/Physician Affiliation Discussion Group

    • The goal is to clarify and strengthen FHT/physician partnerships (with affiliated and possibly unaffiliated physicians) by exploring requirements for a shared agreement/MOU.
    • Key considerations for the agreement/MOU template content will include guiding principles and goals; expectations related to roles, responsibilities and outcomes; team collaboration and shared care; and use of resources.

     
    Governance Discussion Group

    • The goal is to revisit the current governance models from a lens of ensuring the boards have a diversity of skills, experience and backgrounds representative of the community served, and are responsive to health equity, community/patient needs, and patient experience.
    • Key considerations will include the minimum standards for the Governance and Compliance attestation; how Boards are held accountable for performing their fiduciary, strategic, and generative duties; the requirement for board education and training; and any additional considerations for blended salary and academic models.

     
    We would like each working group to have 8-10 members, with a mix of EDs, physicians, and board members. We also hope to include 1-2 QIDSS on the Accountability and Performance Discussion Group.
     
    These groups will review the materials developed to date and help us finalise our recommendations to the ministry. We anticipate 3 to 4 meetings for each discussion group between June and September, with the first meeting planned for early June. Timing and frequency will be determined during the first meeting, and we will work to minimize the burden.
     
    We would like to emphasise that the recommendations we develop will be submitted to and discussed with the ministry, who will make the final decisions.
     
    If you’re interested in joining one discussion group, please complete this quick survey by Friday, May 13.
     
    Any questions, please contact Bryn Hamilton at bryn.hamilton@afhto.ca.
     
    Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to these discussions.
     
    Sincerely,
    AFHTO

     

  • Bits & Pieces: #AFHTO2022 call for abstracts and more

    Bits & Pieces: #AFHTO2022 call for abstracts and more

    Your Weekly News & Updates

    In This Issue  
    • AFHTO 2022 Conference: call for abstracts
    • Reminder- online appointment booking funding webinar tomorrow
    • Election 2022: It Takes a Team – on social media!
    • Happy Health Administration Day
    • Doctors’ Day is May 1
    • Paxlovid prescription forms, masking requirements continue and more
    • MOH “Axe the Fax” survey
    • MOH, CMOH & OH updates including memos on hepatitis in children and OHTs
    • Upcoming events including understanding your health webinars and more

    AFHTO 2022 Conference: call for abstracts

    Reconnect and Reimagine: moving forward together Oct. 12, 2022 #AFHTO2022

    It’s time to highlight primary care. We’ll be selecting sessions and posters for our 4 core themes and we need your help. We want your insight, from system and policy-level discussions to patient-focused inquiries into the ways teams can better serve their communities now as we reconnect and reimagine, moving forward together.

    Find out more here.

    And don’t forget, the deadline to join a working group and/or Bright Lights review committee is next Tuesday, May 3. Come behind the scenes of our first hybrid conference and be the first to learn about new developments in the field, influence conference programming and discover the latest innovators in areas directly relevant to your work. Working group members also receive a discount off their registration fee.

    Reminder- online appointment booking funding webinar tomorrow

    The Ministry of Health has approved funding for Ontario Health Teams (OHT) in development teams and other health care organizations to enable more patients to schedule an online appointment with their primary care provider or other community care provider.

    This funding is intended to support transforming how care is delivered and assisting OHTs and the broader health sector to build their digital health maturity. This funding is also available to primary care and teams that are interested in implementing OAB in their clinics.

    To learn more about this opportunity, register for our webinar tomorrow with Ontario Health, April 28 from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m.

    Election 2022: It Takes a Team – on social media!

    Teams are doing fantastic local advocacy as we head into an election where health care is a top issue for all parties.

    Social media – especially Twitter – is a good tool to reach a political audience, and we encourage you use it lots this next month! Check out our social media animations and graphics here, and share successes, pictures from candidate meetings, or pictures of patients with a voter card. Broadcast what you do to deliver the best primary care in Ontario where It Takes a Team.

    AFHTO will be tweeting regularly. We ask you tag @afhto when you tweet, and we will also retweet you!

    Please use our campaign slogan #ItTakesATeam

    If you have any questions, please email advocacy@afhto.ca.

    Happy Health Administration Day
    For all the appointment bookings, checking patients in at the front desk and making things just run better- to all the professionals who keep their teams going- we know it’s like herding cats, but we literally wouldn’t be able to do it without you. Happy Health Administration Day!

    Black and white picture of a black woman with her hair in a bun on top holding her right hand palm facing the camera. On it an orange post-it note says My Doctor's...Diagnosis saved my life.

     

    Doctors’ Day is May 1
    Sunday, May 1, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and health care organizations across the province will be recognizing contributions made by Ontario’s doctors. Ontarians can participate by saying thank you with colour here.

    You can also join the conversation with hashtag #DoctorsDay.

    A special thank you to all the family doctors working with our teams for the great care you provide to your patients and your communities each and every day.

     

     

    Paxlovid prescription forms, masking requirements continue and more

    Recent updates include:

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

    MOH “Axe the Fax” survey
    The Ministry of Health has initiated an analysis of the current state and drivers of fax use to identify potential options for phasing out fax use in Ontario’s health system. As part of their first phase, there is an assessment survey with a purpose to obtain input from a variety of stakeholders about their use of traditional paper-based fax and electronic fax. Only one survey needs to be submitted from each organization. For more information and the survey link, click here.

    MOH, CMOH & OH updates including memos on hepatitis in children and OHTs

    Understanding your health webinars
    Resources for patients and providers from Living Healthy Champlain. Learn more here

    Mental Health Week, May 2-8, 2022
    CMHA toolkit available here

    3rd Annual McMaster University Review Course in Psychiatry, May 26-27, 2022
    Virtual CPD Conference. Find out more here.

    Feeding Children – Success is in the Details, starting May 18, 2022
    Hosted by Nutrition Connection at the Ontario Public Health Association and Ellyn Satter Institute. Find out more here.

    Action Now! Building Equitable Futures Together, June 8-9, 2022
    Alliance for Healthier Communities conference. Early bird deadline Apr. 29. 2022. Register here.

     

  • Follow-up on January’s regional calls with EDs and admin leads;update from meeting with the Primary Health Care Branch

    Note: This email is going to executive directors, lead physicians, NP clinical directors, and board chairs

    Dear leadership triad,

    Thank you to all executive directors and admin leads who joined their regional call with us at end of January. It is always helpful to hear from you, and we hope you found the call and the chance to connect with your fellow EDs to be useful.

    This email is a follow-up to provide the information promised during the calls, a summary of our call with the Ministry of Health’s Primary Health Care Branch on February 3, and a few other updates and supports.

    Please see the email from last Friday, February 4, titled “COVID-19 Outpatient Therapies, Vaccination Updates, and Other Updates” for an update on COVID-19 vaccination (including aged 5-11), long COVID, RATs supply, and more.

    Update from the meeting with the Primary Health Care Branch, MOH (February 3)

    • The Annual Operating Plan is scheduled to be due at the end of April, and teams can expect an email on this from the Primary Health Care (PHC) Branch sometime this month. To streamline the process, they will be sending it out as a Microsoft form (i.e., survey), which can be downloaded as a PDF/word document. Teams can enter information into the word document and then copy and paste it into the online survey. Information requested will be the same as previous years, with a bit more on virtual care.
    • Notification on FHT contract extension is expected this week. Teams will need to sign back on this agreement, with a March 15 deadline. E-deposits will then continue.
    • AFHTO raised teams’ concerns about the expenditure guideline requirement that no single profession may account for more than 50% of the total complement unless prior ministry approval is provided in writing.
      • It was noted that if a nurse is needed to do something extensive like mental health, particularly in small and/or rural teams, a case on the nursing compliment going above 50% could be made to the ministry. If there is a compelling case for a higher ratio of nursing staff, FHTs can make a business case for the change through the annual operating plan or through an in-year reallocation request. Teams are encouraged to speak with their senior program consultant.
      • The PHC Branch understands that there is confusion among teams around the role of nursing staff within a FHT and has made a commitment to provide clarity of the role and expectations on nursing-funded positions. Once more information is available, we will share it with you.
    • Members had inquired about using HR funding for recruitment/reallocation expenses. HR funding is not to be used for this purpose, but teams are reminded that per the ARI guidelines there is a tolerance threshold of $10,000 that can be moved between budget categories (HR to overhead) without ministry approval, which can allow you to employ tactics to support recruitment efforts. Anything beyond the tolerance threshold can only be reallocated with written approval from the ministry.
    • Although not confirmed and waiting on dissemination from Ontario Health, the PHC Branch has seen next year’s QIP expectations. The timelines and release are currently with Ontario Health, and PHC Branch was unable to give a timeline for its release as it is now out of their hands.
    • We know that teams continue to make unsolicited funding requests and do not always know why their proposals are rejected. To help support teams with future requests, the PHC Branch has agreed to develop a criteria checklist on what teams should be focusing on when requesting additional funding. This will help teams in preparing a business case. We do not have a timeline to share, but we will follow up with the PHC Branch a couple weeks, if needed. Stay tuned!
    • We also understand that the ministry has reviewed all unsolicited business cases from 2019/20, and the teams that are going to receive additional investments have been notified. We expect an announcement in the coming weeks to highlight the teams, including some that received substantial expansion dollars to support an increased number of patients rostered.
    • With year-end funds and projected surpluses, the ministry will be working with teams expecting a surplus and connecting them with teams in need of funding.  If you project overspending because of COVID, the ministry can help with matchmaking now to another team that is projecting a surplus. Teams are encouraged to contact their senior program consultant as soon as possible to discuss this.

    Pre-budget submission and the 2022 election

    • On February 11, we will be submitting our pre-budget submission with the Primary Care Collaborative. There are 22 recommendations, broken into four sections:
      • Address the HHR crisis and system capacity
      • Integrate health care across Ontario
      • Prioritize digital and data equity
      • Create a culturally safe healthcare system that addresses health inequities
    • We will share this submission with members once completed, and we will expand further on the points to provide an additional resource for election advocacy.
    • If teams have recent stories of success to share that would fall in any of these categories, please send them to Beth MacKinnon to highlight in our advocacy tools.
    • All advocacy tools for the 2022 election will be circulated by the end of February. We encourage you to check out who your local candidates are now and begin outreach to introduce yourself and schedule meetings for March.

    Moving the yardstick on funding for team-based primary care

    • AFHTO is arranging a pilot with a handful of teams in 2-3 regions to look at how we can work better together to maximize resources and expand access to team-based care based on population health needs. The pilot will be used to demonstrate how and why funding would be needed to expand even further.
    • Any group of teams who would like to be part of this pilot and are interested in working together are invited to contact Bryn Hamilton.

    Survey #1: Please complete this survey for the Vaccination Research Study

    • AFHTO has partnered with Dr. Rachelle Ashcroft on a study focused on understanding how and in what ways primary care contributes to vaccine distribution. This includes challenges experienced by primary care in the transition to vaccine distribution, as well as generating recommendations about primary care’s ongoing and future roles in vaccine distribution, including COVID-19 boosters.
    • This study will be focus groups with EDs, physicians, nurses, QIDSS, and IHPs. Please share this poll with team members so they can share interest and provide availability here: https://utorontofsw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9ocXZYkcgB5mzPM.
    • Please note, each team member can fill out this poll individually.
    • Please complete this survey by Friday, February 11.

    Survey #2: Please complete the Mental Health Survey

    • AFHTO is supporting the OMA in collectively identifying 2-3 key priorities of mutual interest to strengthen primary care’s capacity to deliver mental health and addiction care and strengthen primary care’s ability to deliver supports to address the needs of people living with moderate-severe depression, anxiety, OCD, and opioid use problems.
    • To support this work, we ask that Executive Directors/Administrative Leads of teams please fill out this quick survey: https://forms.office.com/r/u6Dueg7XV4.
    • Please complete this survey by Friday, February 11.

    A few other things

    • Executive directors and admin leads, please join us on Wednesday, February 23 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. for a meeting on “Ontario Health Teams: Where are we now and what’s next?” The first 30 minutes will be with representatives from the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health, who will provide a brief update and Q&A. The last hour will be a discussion among teams. More information and registration are here.
    • A session is being coordinated with Ontario Health for a broader update on the work they are doing and the chance for teams to ask questions. A date will be shared later this month.
    • A reminder to check out the Monitoring Organizational Performance Toolkit and Dashboard that was developed for boards and introduced last month.
    • The second phase of Ontario’s work to ease public health measures is expected on February 21. More information on the province’s reopening plan can be seen here.  AFHTO, in collaboration with partners, shared concerns on the reopening plan and public health measures with the ministry prior to the first phase of reopening. You can read our letter to the minister here.
    • On February 7, Nadia Surani, Director of the PHC Branch, sent a memo to teams asking them to prioritize vaccination for children if capacity allowed. If you are experiencing ongoing issues with your PHU around vaccine access or need support, please contact us so we can bring concerns to the ministry. Also check out http://www.parenthomework.ca/ for some great practical, parent-facing guidance around children’s vaccination.

    A reminder to keep checking out our COVID-19 section that we regularly update with news, tools, and resources, including the daily situation reports.

    Please contact us any time. We hope you are all keeping well.

    Sincerely,
    Your AFHTO Team

  • Burlington OHT Mobile App helps people Seeking Local Health & Social Services

    Burlington FHT is a proud Burlington Ontario Health Team member.  Acting as the Implementation Funding Transfer Payment Agent and BOHT Remote Community Management Program Lead, we are pleased to support the BOHT System Navigation Program. 

    The Navigator app facilitates people to find multiple health and community agency programs and services easily. It’s the first of its kind province-wide that an OHT has created that offers a single access point to a wide variety of community providers. The OHT launched the app in November 2021, and we are working on Version 2, which will include a physician resource portal. 

    In addition to assisting with developing the Burlington OHT Navigator app, BFHT also offers one-on-one support for community residents when needed. Another great program launched alongside this is the BOHT Virtual Care Library.  The VCL loans community members without technology a tablet and access to the internet temporarily through a referral from community physicians and agencies.  The Navigator app is the first public-facing BOHT has initiated, demonstrating what can be achieved through OHT collaboration.

     
    For more information, please contact Joanne Pearson, Executive Director, BFHT.  jpearson@burlingtonfht.com

    Relevant Links:

     

  • Patients, clinicians benefit from team-based care model: Stanford study

    Research article published in Annals of Family Medicine September 2021, 19 (5) 411-418

    Primary Care 2.0: A Prospective Evaluation of a Novel Model of Advanced Team Care With Expanded Medical Assistant Support

    Abstract

    PURPOSE Assess effectiveness of Primary Care 2.0: a team-based model that incorporates increased medical assistant (MA) to primary care physician (PCP) ratio, integration of advanced practice clinicians, expanded MA roles, and extended the interprofessional team.

    METHODS Prospective, quasi-experimental evaluation of staff/clinician team development and wellness survey data, comparing Primary Care 2.0 to conventional clinics within our academic health care system. We surveyed before the model launch and every 6-9 months up to 24 months post implementation. Secondary outcomes (cost, quality metrics, patient satisfaction) were assessed via routinely collected operational data

    RESULTS Team development significantly increased in the Primary Care 2.0 clinic, sustained across all 3 post implementation time points (+12.2, +8.5, + 10.1 respectively, vs baseline, on the 100-point Team Development Measure) relative to the comparison clinics. Among wellness domains, only “control of work” approached significant gains (+0.5 on a 5-point Likert scale, P = .05), but was not sustained. Burnout did not have statistically significant relative changes; the Primary Care 2.0 site showed a temporal trend of improvement at 9 and 15 months. Reversal of this trend at 2 years corresponded to contextual changes, specifically, reduced MA to PCP staffing ratio. Adjusted models confirmed an inverse relationship between team development and burnout (P <.0001). Secondary outcomes generally remained stable between intervention and comparison clinics with suggestion of labor cost savings.

    CONCLUSIONS The Primary Care 2.0 model of enhanced team-based primary care demonstrates team development is a plausible key to protect against burnout, but is not sufficient alone. The results reinforce that transformation to team-based care cannot be a 1-time effort and institutional commitment is integral.

    Authors:
    Jonathan G. Shaw, Marcy Winget, Cati Brown-Johnson, Timothy Seay-Morrison, Donn W. Garvert, Marcie Levine, Nadia Safaeinili and Megan R. Mahoney

    Relevant Links:

     

  • 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).

  • QI in Action eBulletin #108: COVID-19 Vaccination Data & GeriMedRisk

    QI in Action eBulletin #108: COVID-19 Vaccination Data & GeriMedRisk

    In this Issue:

    • COVID-19 Vaccination Data Workflow Updates
    • COVID-19 Vaccination Information Available via the Digital Health Drug Repository (DHDR)
    • Digital Health OHT Community of Practice (CoP)
    • GeriMedRisk
    • Upcoming Webinars

    COVID-19 Vaccination Data Workflow Updates
    As of May 18, 2021, and onwards, Health Report Manager (HRM) has been pushing data prospectively to physicians/nurse practitioners when their name has been collected through COVaxON at point of vaccination. Further information around HRM COVaxON Vaccination Reports can be found on the OntarioMD website here.

    COVaxON is now up to date to allow for documentation of mixed vaccines for those who received the AZ vaccine as their first dose. When adding the second dose vaccine a pop up will appear to remind you that this is not the same vaccine as the first dose. To proceed to the next step, you can write “guideline update” within the text box.

    COVID vaccination data is now also available through the provincial clinical viewers, Connecting Ontario and Clinical Connect. Access to the viewers can be requested via Ontario Health’s Digital Health Service’s website. In the upcoming weeks, you will also see curated lists of enrolled patients that have been vaccinated made available on a monthly basis to physicians through the eReport tool which is available to any patient enrollment model (PEM) physicians in Ontario.

    Any PEM physician with an Ontario Health ONE ID account will have access to their reports. Physicians without a One ID account can get one through the CPSO website or by making a request at Ontario Health’s Digital Health Service’s website.

    Please click here for the COVID-19 vaccination toolbar created by Guelph FHT to help support providers in vaccine data documentation. In addition, please click here for a HRM workflow document, thanks to Dr. Scott Laing of Ottawa. As the vaccination reports are sent via HRM, some issues have been flagged and OntarioMD is working to resolve these issues as they become aware of them. Please check out the OntarioMD website for up-to-date notes on any issues identified and fixed. Below is a list of updates as of June 8, 2021:

    Content below developed by Ontario Health
    COVID-19 Vaccination Information Available via the Digital Health Drug Repository (DHDR)

    The DHDR is a provincial repository of publicly funded drugs and pharmacy services, and all monitored drugs (regardless of payor). Ontarians’ COVID-19 vaccination information from COVaxON (the ministry’s provincial solution for COVID-19 vaccination information) is being made available through the DHDR as a quick solution to enable secure and easy access to authorized health care practitioners throughout the province.

    Similar to existing DHDR records, COVID-19 vaccination information available through the DHDR is limited to patients with a valid Ontario Health Number (HN).

    More information can be found within this document here.

    Content below developed by Ontario Health (Population Health and Digital Excellence) and the Ministry of Health

    Digital Health OHT Community of Practice

    Ontario Health (Population Health and Digital Excellence) and the Ministry of Health are proposing that a province-wide Digital Health OHT Community of Practice (COP) be established that would provide a framework for OHTs to collaborate and share at a provincial level related to their digital and virtual needs and programs. This group would be a sub-component of the broader OHT Learning Collaboratives and Communities of Practice and supported by the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health.

     
    The COP will be co-facilitated by OH regional digital leads and OHTs would be invited to showcase their best practices and lessons learned related to digital needs/programs for mutual learning across the province on a given topic. This collaborative should make it easier for OHTs to work on their requirements.

    This group will meet quarterly but the COP would serve as a forum for engagement more broadly in between the meetings. This will include ongoing collaboration, on-line sharing, webinars, and workshops on key subjects. Importantly, the group will have an online collaboration space on the OHT Collaborative platform called the Digital Health OHT Community of Practice that can help support these activities. The COP will be used to facilitate sharing of leading practices, enabling scale of successful initiatives and standardization across OHTs/regions.   

    To learn more, please check out the Digital Health OHT Community of Practice Quorum group.

    Content below developed by GeriMedRisk
    A Geriatric Specialist Resource for Primary Care Providers: GeriMedRisk

    GeriMedRisk is an Ontario Ministry of Health-funded clinical consultation and education service for doctors, nurse practitioners and pharmacists practicing in Ontario.

    GeriMedRisk provides virtual access to an interdisciplinary specialist team from geriatric psychiatry, clinical pharmacology, geriatric pharmacy, and geriatric medicine who collaborate to answer clinical questions regarding your older patients’ medications, physical and mental health conditions.

    Within approximately 5 business days, GeriMedRisk provides a coordinated response and educational materials back to the primary care provider for use with their patient.

     

    How to consult GeriMedRisk
    Ontario Telemedicine Network or Champlain BASE™ eConsult: select “GeriMedRisk”
     
    Fax: (519) 279-2959
     
    Call toll-free 1 (855) 261-0508 (Mon-Fri 9:00 am – 5:00 pm ET)
     
    Specialized Geriatric Services (SGS) Intake Forms
     

    GeriMedRisk Consultation Process:

    Shows lifecycle of gerimedrisk process

    1. Prescriber (doctor, nurse practitioner, specialist) or allied health care professional* identifies medication, mental health or physical concern in their patient.
    2. Clinician sends consult question and patient medical records to GeriMedRisk via eConsult, phone, fax, or central intake referral.
    3. GeriMedRisk team reviews question, medical records, and conducts a best possible medication history with patient/caregiver.
    4. Clinician receives a single, integrated consult note and relevant educational materials typically within 5 business days.

    *Includes pharmacists, nurses, physician assistants or other clinicians in partnership and with the consent of the prescriber.

    Example of Gerimedrisk resource

    Educational Resources for Primary Care Providers

    • Drug information: GeriMedRisk creates geriatric drug information summaries and infographics on safe prescribing for older adults.
      • Browse the library here and request at no cost.
    • GeriMedRisk- Geriatric Clinical Pharmacology rounds:
    • Monthly online accredited rounds on topics in safe prescribing.
    • COVID-19 Drug Information Resources

    Upcoming Event: Geriatric Clinical Pharmacology And GeriMedRisk: Drug Safety For Older Adults Beyond “Start Low, Go Slow”

    On June 24, 2021 at 12 pm, join Dr. Joanne Ho (geriatrician, clinical pharmacologist and co-executive director of GeriMedRisk) to learn more about how GeriMedRisk can support your patients’ care. Click here to register.

    For more information: www.GeriMedRisk.com |1 (855) 261-0508| info@GeriMedRisk.com | @GeriMedRisk

    Upcoming Webinars:

    In Case You Missed It: Check out eBulletin #107 or other back issues here!
    Questions? Comments? Contact us at improve@afhto.ca.

  • Arnprior & District FHT, VTAC and COVID-19 vaccination drive through clinics

    Arnprior & District FHT, VTAC and COVID-19 vaccination drive through clinics

    Arnprior & District Family Health Team continues to support COVID-19 efforts

     

    April 23, 2021 – Arnprior & District Family Health Team (ADFHT) has been hard at work supporting local residents in addressing their needs as a result of the pandemic.    

    ADFHT is one of the key partner organizations taking the administrative lead in launching the Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre’s (VTAC) virtual bookings. This initiative was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is a partnership between ADFHT, Arnprior Regional Health (the hospital), Renfrew County Paramedics and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit.   

    2 health care workers at a patient's car

    VTAC was established to strengthen access to healthcare for all residents of Renfrew County during the pandemic so that the Emergency Departments and 9-1-1 services are reserved for genuine emergencies.

    This is done through having medical receptionists, family physicians/nurse practitioners on call through VTAC to provide assessment, treatment and the booking of COVID testing. 

    Remote monitoring of individuals at home who don’t require hospitalization but can be monitored and treated at home is also arranged and supported through VTAC. VTAC has both a live phone line that can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and also an online booking system to support individuals needing a covid test.

    The ADFHT employs all the receptionists, schedules all the testing, provides the back end administrative support, provides 24/7 management coverage, trouble shooting, manages urgent requests from the Health Unit related to testing and coordinates the physician schedules. Some of these costs are reimbursed through Assessment Centre funding provided to ARH by Ontario Health.

    cars at drive thru in arnprior

    In addition to the success of VTAC’s virtual bookings, ADFHT has also taken on a co-lead role in the COVID-19 Vaccination efforts, helping to organize and lead both Drive Through and onsite clinics for vaccination.

    The Drive Through Clinics are now being held in Arnprior every Thursday and  there are people all across the County and beyond who travel to the drive through clinics to experience the drive through model of vaccination. In the last two weeks alone, over 1,500 patients have been vaccinated in two drive through clinics.

     

    ADFHT, Arnprior Regional Health and County of Renfrew Paramedic Service continue to demonstrate the essential role of primary care in Arnprior while working in collaboration to support our local needs.

    overhead view of drive thru clinic

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Relevant Links: