CFHI and IHI Team Up to Improve Patient Experience and Outcomes while Lowering Costs

Ten Canadian Teams Join IHI Triple Aim Collaborative

OTTAWA, Sept. 9, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement today announced a new cohort of Canadian teams participating in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Better Health and Lower Costs for Patients with Complex Needs: An IHI Triple Aim Collaborative. Over 12 months, the teams will transform how their organizations care for patients living with complex health needs so patients experience better care and improved health, all at a lower cost. Children with complex conditions, patients with mental health and addictions challenges, people with no fixed address, new Canadians without healthcare providers, and the frail elderly with chronic conditions are just some of the patients who will benefit from this initiative.

The ten teams will focus on improving care for those who need it most. In Canada, it is estimated that five percent of the population uses 60 to 70 percent of all healthcare services, and accounts for a similar proportion of health spending. These patients have complex, often chronic, health needs, often resulting in a mis-match between patient needs and traditional healthcare services offered. 

CFHI is paying half of the Canadian organizations' registration fees of US$20,000, in addition to helping teams evaluate their progress, providing networking opportunities and providing access to other resources. This is CFHI's second time working with IHI to support Canadian teams in a Triple Aim collaborative. From 2013 to 2014, CFHI sponsored a pan-Canadian cohort of nine teams in the IHI Triple Aim Improvement Community (TAIC). As a result of their participation in the TAIC, the Alberta Health Services Triple Aim Addictions, Mental Health and Homecare Team was able to lower healthcare costs which include acute care, emergency services, and homecare costs, from an average of $7,999.95 per person to $3,133.00 in only 11 months.

The new 2014-15 cohort of Canadian organizations participating in this IHI Triple Aim collaborative spans seven provinces:

1. BC Children's Hospital, Complex Care Program (BC)
2. Alberta Health Services (Edmonton, AB)
3. Mosaic Primary Care Network (Calgary, AB)
4. Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
5. Hamilton Health Sciences Centre (Hamilton, ON)
6. Belleville & Quinte West Community Health Centre (Belleville, ON)
7. South Simcoe and Northern York Region Health Link (Newmarket, ON)
8. Collaboration Quebec, a regional coalition of the Quebec Initiative for Population-Based Responsibility (IPCDC) and four regional Health and Social Services Agencies (Agence de la santé et des services sociaux – ASSS) from Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Montérégie and Lanaudière led by the Public Health Agency of Quebec (INSPQ) (QC)
9. Health PEI (PEI)
10. Breton Ability Centre (Sydney, Nova Scotia)

Facts:

• Canada's health expenditures per capita are ranked among the highest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's 2011 rankings, standing at $4,503 versus $3,996 in Australia, $3,172 in New Zealand, $4,609 in Germany and $3,212 in the United Kingdom (all figures in US dollars).
• In Canada, as elsewhere, a small percentage of the population accounts for a disproportionate amount of healthcare use and costs. In Ontario, 5% of the population accounts for 61% of hospital and home care spending, while in British Columbia, 5% of the population generated more than 30% of spending on physician services and, in Manitoba, 5% of the population produced 41% of prescription expenditures.
• The urgency to improve care for these patients is growing, as systems in the U.S. and Canada place more emphasis on care continuity, patient-centeredness and reducing waste in cash-strapped systems.
• The IHI Triple Aim, based on intense pilot testing with over 140 organizations around the world, consists of the simultaneous pursuit of better patient experience and population health at lower costs per-capita. Organizations identify their target populations and system aims and measures before developing projects that can yield results at the system level and be scaled up while adapting to local needs and conditions.
• A total of 43 teams, from Canada, the U.S. and Europe, are taking part in the collaborative. Many of the teams are also taking part in other CFHI collaboratives: addressing chronic disease management in the Atlantic provinces; improving healthcare in northern, rural and remote contexts; and partnering with patients and families to drive quality improvement.

Quotes: 

"Our Government is committed to harnessing the tremendous potential of innovation in healthcare to ensure a sustainable, efficient and responsive healthcare system for Canadians. Through the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, we are helping these ten Canadian organizations implement innovative ways of working that achieve the 'triple aim.'"
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Federal Minister of Health

"Providing better care for patients with complex health needs at an affordable cost is a challenge facing health systems across Canada. The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement is pleased to be working with IHI and these stellar Canadian teams to implement the IHI Triple Aim in the Canadian context."
Maureen O'Neil, President, CFHI

"This collaborative reaches many of the most vulnerable individuals whose needs often go unmet by the traditional healthcare service model. New models of care are needed to improve health, care experience and at lower costs. IHI welcomes CFHI's continued funding of Canadian organizations to help advance our Triple Aim work around the world."
Maureen Bisognano, President, IHI

Related Links:

• 2014-15 cohort of Canadian IHI Triple Aim organizations
• 2013-14 cohort of Canadian IHI Triple Aim organizations 
• IHI Triple Aim 

The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to accelerating healthcare improvement by working with provinces, territories and other healthcare partners to promote efficient healthcare that delivers better outcomes. With a $10 million annual federal investment, CFHI supports the development of innovations that could save provincial-territorial healthcare budgets over $1 billion per year. CFHI is funded through an agreement with the Government of Canada.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement is a leading innovator in health and health care improvement worldwide. For more than 25 years, IHI has partnered with visionaries, leaders, and front-line practitioners around the globe to spark bold, inventive ways to improve the health of individuals and populations. Together, we build the will for change, seek out innovative models of care, and spread proven best practices.  When it comes to raising the quality of health for all, IHI sees boundless possibilities, and while we see the walls in front of us, we will not rest until we reach the other side. 

SOURCE: Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement

Paulette Roberge, Senior Communications Specialist, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, T: 613-728-2238, Ext. 288, C: 613-790-1070, E: [email protected] mailto:[email protected]