Practical tools for practices to improve quality

In the summer of 2020, the Quality & Innovation Program launched a common patient experience survey across DFCM core teaching sites to better understand patient experience in primary care practice during COVID-19. The 13 participating sites are using a common core set of survey questions as well as a common survey distribution process. Questions relate to modes of access, timeliness and continuity of care, patient-centredness, privacy and security, and more. Results will directly inform site operations and will also provide a more general picture of patient experience of the changes in care during COVID-19.

We are sharing our survey questions and would love to support other primary care practices who are engaging in similar work.

For more details, contact Dr. Payal Agarwal.

View the survey:

Patient Experience Survey - improving your patient experience

Patient Experience Survey - improving your patient experience (376.07 KB)

HQO MyPractice Report

https://www.hqontario.ca/quality-improvement/practice-reports/primary-care

Learn even more about your practice by signing up for a confidential report that includes personalized data, along with suggestions to support you in improving care for your patients.

Screening Activity Report (SAR)

https://www.cancercareontario.ca/en/guidelines-advice/treatment-modality/primary-care/screening-activity-report

The SAR is an online tool available to primary care physicians who practice as part of a patient enrolment model, It provides screening data for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers to help physicians improve their cancer screening rates and appropriate follow-up. The report platform is interactive, allowing physicians to quickly find specific cancer screening information for each patient.

OntarioMD Dashboard

https://www.ontariomd.ca/products-and-services/insights4care/i4c-dashboard

OntarioMD has developed an EMR-integrated, actionable population health management tool that gives clinicians real-time visual representation of their EMR data using widely recognized primary care indicators each representing different preventive care and chronic disease management focus points (diabetes test results, smoking status, etc). The dashboard enables clinicians to drill down to patient-level data for each indicator and take immediate proactive steps to improve patient care. Email support@ontariomd.com to find out how to start using the dashboard in your practice

UTOPIAN - DFCM

https://www.dfcm.utoronto.ca/about-utopian

UTOPIAN can provide practices with de-identified patient data from the practice Electronic Medical Record, summarizing practice demographics and information on quality of care.

We can think creatively about ways to disseminate our results with others – from a blog, to commentaries, to presentations, to a QI report, to a more traditional peer-reviewed publication. Here are some avenues to consider.

Blogs

• Share your improvement experiences with other colleagues engaged in improvement work via Quorum (hosted by Ontario Health)
• Share your experience with patients through HealthyDebate 
• Many medical journals have associated blogs that would be good venues to share reflections

Presentations

The following conferences offer great opportunities to present primary care QI work:

• Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO)
• Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (C-QuIPS)
• Family Medicine Forum (FMF)
• North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) 
• North American Primary Care Research Group - Practice Based Research Network (PBRN)
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 

Peer-reviewed publications

Full research papers can be published in a number of reputable journals. If a full research paper seems out of reach, here are some other options to consider:

• QI report in BMJ Quality Open
• Program Description or Commentary in Canadian Family Physician
• Innovations section in CMAJ
• Innovation report in Annals of Family Medicine

QI Publication Funding

Purpose

To help support DFCM faculty who have had peer-reviewed articles focused on improving quality accepted for publication.

Award

The DFCM will award 50% of a publication acceptance fee up to a maximum of $1,000 CAD per publication. An applicant must demonstrate availability of matching funds. Awards are based on availability of funds.

Eligibility

All faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to Quality and Innovation Program Directors. The faculty member must be either first author or senior responsible author. Publications should relate to improving quality in primary care and summarize results of an original intervention. A maximum of one award will be granted per person per calendar year (January 1 - December 31).

Requirements

Completion of the online form.