First collaborative tackles inappropriate antipsychotic use
OTTAWA, March 7, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement today announced an initiative that will improve patient care and help manage rising healthcare costs by spreading successful innovations across Canada. The Spreading Healthcare Innovations Initiative is comprised of two collaboratives that will each spread a promising healthcare practice more widely. The first collaborative focuses on reducing inappropriate antipsychotic medication use among long term care residents.
"Across Canada there are many innovative ways of improving patient care, but too often they aren't shared or used across the country," said the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Federal Minister of Health. "Through funding for organizations like the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, our Government is supporting partnerships that spread these promising practices across health regions, provinces, territories and eventually the entire country."
In Canadian long term care homes, one in three residents is taking antipsychotic drugs without a diagnosis of psychosis. There is also significant variation among rates in different long term care homes, pointing to the potentially inappropriate use of these medications.
The collaborative will help Canadian healthcare organizations implement an approach that reduced by 27 percent the number of residents on antipsychotic medication among a cohort at a Winnipeg long term care facility. Leading this collaborative will be the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) team that implemented the practice through CFHI's EXTRA program for healthcare improvement.
"For over a decade, CFHI has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with healthcare delivery organizations, helping them implement new ways of working that improve quality and value-for-money," said CFHI President Maureen O'Neil. "The Spreading Healthcare Innovations Initiative responds to our partners' needs by providing support and funding to kick-start change in their organizations."
Each 12-month CFHI collaborative will help up to 10 healthcare organizations implement a practice that has already proven successful at improving patient care in another organization. Funding, coaching and support in areas such as change management, performance measurement and patient engagement will be provided by CFHI. The second collaborative will be announced in the coming weeks.
"By looking at our residents' personal histories rather than just their medical files, we were able to improve their quality of life and save healthcare dollars," said Cynthia Sinclair, Manager Special Projects, Personal Care Home program, WRHA. "We are excited to be collaborating with the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement again to help other organizations make similar improvements and I look forward to what we can achieve by working together."
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.
Image with caption: "CFHI Launches Initiative to Spread Healthcare Innovations (CNW Group/Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140307_C9792_PHOTO_EN_37680.jpg
SOURCE: Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
Paulette Roberge
Senior Communications Specialist
Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
W: 613-728-2238 ext. 288
C: 613-790-1070
E: [email protected]
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