Grant: CIHR New Investigator

My colleagues and I have developed and are evaluating a Virtual Ward, a new model of care that attempts to combine the best elements of hospital and community-based care. Although patients being cared for in a Virtual Ward reside at home, they are cared for by a hospital-like interdisciplinary team that collaborates with their primary care provider. Our Virtual Ward cares for patients after they have been discharged from hospital, a time when communication breakdowns and adverse events are especially common. Our team meets daily and provides round-the-clock availability at a single telephone number. Each member of our Virtual Ward team, including the physician, can provide care wherever it is felt to be most appropriate, including the patient's home. We are conducting a randomized controlled trial comparing our Virtual Ward with usual care. Most researchers would argue that randomized controlled trials are the fairest way to test new health care interventions. We are trying to determine whether patients who are admitted to our Virtual Ward have better health outcomes than patients who are cared for in the usual manner. Over the next 5 years, I will also be leading several additional research projects designed to reduce avoidable hospitalizations. The MOHLTC and Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network have provided more than $2 million over 3 years to support the operating costs of the Virtual Ward. Both organizations, along with senior administrators from each of the participating hospitals and the Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre are represented on our project's steering committee. These substantial commitments illustrate the relevance of my research program to decision makers.