Grant: Health System Impact Fellowships - PostDoc Central Canada 2 year

Digital health information is growing, especially through the increased use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in healthcare settings. EMR data can be used to improve patient care, to monitor the health of populations over time, and for research. Canada needs more skilled scientists that can understand these data and help health organizations use their data for better healthcare. This project will advance my training as a health data scientist by collaborating with Unity Health Toronto to address one of their health challenges. Unity Health Toronto is a large health science centre in south-east Toronto with a focus on providing care to individuals made vulnerable by social and economic factors. It is home to the St. Michael's Hospital Family Health Team (FHT), who are well-known for their work providing equitable, patient-centred health care by addressing social determinants of health (SDoH). Since 2013, the FHT has been asking patients about different aspects of their personal, social, economic, and environmental conditions; this information then becomes part of their EMR. This project will build on the FHT's work to expand the capture of SDoH information for their patients, including using an analytic approach to extract information from other, more challenging areas of the EMR. This information will help to understand the gaps in care provided by the FHT and to identify and prioritize patients who require follow-up care. Overall, this work aims to use a data-driven approach to support the FHT in their clinical activities and address the wider health needs of their patients.