Monthly Bulletin of the Alliance's Learning Health System |
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Moving Forward as a Learning Health System |
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Get Involved: Research Opportunities |
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Recent Publications & Presentations |
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Learning Events &
Opportunities
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Moving Forward as a Learning Health System |
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On Thursday, October 29, our Learning Health System passed an important milestone! Alliance Executive Leaders voted overwhelmingly to adopt the LHS model; shift the focus of the EPIC committee (formerly known as the Performance Management Committee - EPIC stands for Equity, Performance, Improvement, and Change) towards support for quality improvement; and resource work of the LHS. This is the outcome of nearly five years of work from people all across our sector. Thank you to everyone who has joined us on the journey so far!
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Of course, this milestone does not mark the end of the journey, but the beginning of an exciting new phase, as we start to engage in the work of truly being a learning health system. Over the next few months, you will see some changes that reflect this. The role of Regional Decision Support Specialists will change to encompass practice facilitation and implementation support. Our emerging Practice-Based Learning Network (see story below) will use practice-based data to identify needs and put new ideas to the test.
We’ll also find new ways to communicate what we’re all doing and learning, and to support collective efforts to provide even better care. EPIC News is one of them (subscribe if you haven’t already) - we’ll be sharing stories of our members’ research, innovations, and learnings here. We’ll also be adding a Learning Health System section to the Alliance website. And we’ll continue to facilitate knowledge-sharing through webinars and other tools.
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Want more joy in work? Indulge your curiosity! |
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On November 5, we launched the EPIC Practice-Based Learning Network (PBLN). Like other PBLNs and Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs), the EPIC PBLN will bring together diverse primary health care providers to explore challenges, develop and share innovations, and use practice-based data to measure their effectiveness and drive improvement. Dr. Michelle Griever, a family physician who has been leading PBRNs and PBLNs for 20 years, says that what’s most inspiring about such networks is “the chance to make a difference – a real difference, and a lasting difference – for practices, patients, and really, down the line, for society.” |
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The EPIC PBLN stands out among the other PBLNs in Ontario. It is interprofessional and province-wide in scope, reflecting the diversity of our membership. It is grounded in community and has a mandate to advance health equity. An emerging meta-network of PBLNs, known as ORACLE, will enable all of Ontario’s PBLNs to share their work and learn from each other. Because of this, Dr. Griever envisions the EPIC PBRN as having real potential to advance how primary care providers in our province understand and address the social determinants of health.
The EPIC PBLN is built on the foundation of a common EMR, shared data standards, and data aggregation through our Business Intelligence Reporting Tool (BIRT). This means it is able to generate a robust body of consistent, comparable, and combinable data. Such data can be used to look for patterns and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions through large-scale, real-world clinical trials. As an example, Dr. Griever describes a learning collaborative called Structured Process Involving Data, Evidence, and Research (SPIDER), which uses EMR data for audit & feedback and helps providers scale back the number of medications some of their senior clients are taking. And, she notes, “there’s a fun element.” It breaks the isolation that can come with clinical practice by bringing providers together with peers, mentors, and collaborators across disciplines, adding joy to work.
A big challenge to the success of a PBLNs is the sense that it’s “one more thing” for providers to participate in, another demand on their time. Providers and leaders need to find ways to “get off the hamster wheel” and carve out time to think, innovate, and share. As a sector, we need to find ways to support this. But she notes that learning and innovation can save time eventually. Speaking to the first meeting of the EPIC PBLN, Dr. Griever described how curiosity is her “number one motivator” for participating in this kind of collaborative, practice-based learning. “Asking why, being a two-year-old, figuring out how to work with others to answer your questions – that is what brings joy to my work.” |
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The Lessons of COVID-19:
Learning from Today's Pandemic for Better Care Tomorrow
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When the pandemic was declared an emergency in Ontario, everything changed. The Alliance and our research partners want to understand what has changed and how it has affected our member organizations, clients, and communities, and how we can use the lessons of the pandemic to provide better care now and in the future. Read on to learn about the major research studies the Alliance is currently leading or partnering in related to COVID-19 and its impacts: How will these findings impact your work? Drop us a line to share your thoughts.
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Alliance is a lead organization |
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Involves other research partners |
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Graduate research supervised by Alliance staff |
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A Rapid Primary Healthcare Response to COVID-19: An Equity-Based and Systems-Thinking Approach to Care Ensuring that No One is Left Behind: Explores how Alliance members adapted operations during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that care remained accessible to people who needed it, and to respond to new needs.
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Virtual Care during COVID-19 and Implications for Future Care Delivery: This mixed-methods study focuses on one-on-one primary care. It draws from EMR data as well as surveys and interviews with primary care providers from Alliance member organizations.
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COVID-19: The Role of Leaders in Shifting to and Sustaining Virtual Delivery of Social Programs. This mixed-methods study focuses on group programming within CHCs.
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Recommendations for Patient-Centered Telemedicine: Learning from patients’ experiences with synchronous virtual primary care encounters during the COVID-19 pandemic. This mixed-methods study looks at client experiences with virtual delivery of mental health care and support for chronic disease management.
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Deferred Care Outcomes in Canadian Children and Youth: Measuring and Mitigating Risk during COVID-19. Using population data from Ontario and Manitoba, this study examines how COVID-19 has impacted children and youth through reduced or deferred medical appointments.
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COVID-19 among the populations served by Aboriginal Health Access Centres and Indigenous-governed Community Health Centres. Using COVID-19 testing data from ICES, this project explores how accessible COVID-19 testing is for Indigenous populations served by Indigenous-led primary health care teams.
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Primary Care Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario. The study will assess the magnitude of the shift from in-person delivery of primary care to virtual, using CHC administrative data housed at ICES.
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ARC COVID-Response. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) will evaluate the Access to Resources in the Community (ARC) navigation tool for helping people access resources for COVID-related needs.
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Health Equity in Primary Care Practice: Exploring Engagement of Patients with Diabetes via mHealth Applications. Jennifer Rayner is a co-supervisor of this PhD research about barriers and facilitators to the adoption of mHealth diabetes self-management tools.
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The benefits and pitfalls of virtual primary care for patients with developmental disabilities during COVID-19: A Qualitative Study. Jennifer Rayner is a co-supervisor of this PhD research about the experiences & perspectives of clients, caregivers, and providers.
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Get Involved: Research Opportunities |
Care Coordination during COVID-19: How have complex care programs been impacted by COVID-19? Does having care coordination situated within an interprofessional primary healthcare team make a difference? To participate: One staff member from your organization will complete a 10-minute survey. More info: Survey website or email [email protected]. |
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Patient Experiences with Cancer Diagnoses. All.Can Canada is recruiting clients who have had a diagnosis of breast, colorectal, lung, skin, or blood cancers in the last 6 months to share their experiences in a 60-90 minute paid phone or video interview. Caregivers are welcome to participate with or on behalf of the client, and interpreter services are available. Contact Tina Sahay at [email protected]. |
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Recently Published & Presented |
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Events & Learning Opportunities |
Upcoming webinar: Improving health care for uninsured clients. November 27, 2020. Details | Registration
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