Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Health Services and Policy Research

Primary care has shifted to a team-based approach where family doctors now work in close collaboration with other health providers, such as nurses, social workers and pharmacists, to provide care to patients. Indicators that reflect the contribution of these health providers to patient care are critical to support teams in improving the way they work and to help government decision-makers make informed choices on policies to strengthening primary care. However, the way in which we measure quality and performance mostly relies on physician data, obscuring how other health providers are contributing and leading to incomplete and potentially misleading evidence. Data from electronic medical records offers a promising but, as of yet, untapped solution to close this measurement gap. This cross-provincial project aims to measure and implement indicators in teams in Quebec and Ontario that focus on the contribution of all health providers in to improving the quality of primary care. Our research team then proposes to reunite these primary care teams with decision-makers, managers and patients to determine actions that can move us forward in how we measure the quality of primary care teams based on the whole-team perspective. Given the lack of evidence that currently exists on the current practices of health providers in primary care, our project is will fill a critical measurement gap echoed by our practice and policy partners in understanding how health providers are contributing to day-to-day primary care practice and in guiding effective and efficient interprofessional care based on reliable data.