Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor

McMaster study on collaborative health care gets federal funding

Mari-Len De   

Features Education Profession

teambasedcareFeb. 25, 2014 — The federal government is allocating $6.5 million to fund a project led by McMaster University to study the use of team-based care as a way to achieve better health outcomes for patients and make the system more cost effective.

The announcement was made by Parliamentary Secretary Eve Adams on behalf
of Health Minister Rona Ambrose, last week during a visit to the
Hamilton, Ont.-based university.

The project, Teams Advancing
Patient Experience: Strengthening Quality (TAPESTRY), will examine how
changing the way a primary health-care team operates and interacts with
its patients can improve the quality and efficiency of primary
healthcare services. By integrating resources such as community
volunteers, eHealth technologies and system navigation, the project will
support patient-centred care and stronger connections to community
services.

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"Innovation is critical to improving the efficiency of
the health-care system but also to helping Canadians maintain good
health. This project is looking at innovative ways that health
professionals can work together to provide care to Canadians," said
Adams.

The TAPESTRY project is expected to provide valuable
information regarding ways to increase access to primary health-care
services. The initiative aims to generate evidence and develop tools to
assist provincial and territorial governments in addressing ongoing
primary health-care challenges.

"We're finding ways to combine
the personal touch of community volunteerism and the latest technologies
to improve primary health care. The TAPESTRY project will connect
citizens with their health-care team to encourage early identification
of potential health problems. This is important for Canadians and for
the efficiency of our health-care system," said Dr. David Price
professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University.

The
Canadian government invests more than $1 billion annually on
health-care research. It has also increased health transfers to the
provinces and territories to unprecedented levels, according to the
federal healthy ministry, adding that this funding will continue to grow
to $40 billion by the end of the decade.

"The TAPESTRY project
is an ideal platform for advancing patient health through collaboration.
Combined with access to evidence-based information, such as through the
McMaster Optimal Aging Portal, Canadian citizens, clinicians, public
health professionals and policymakers we'll be able to make informed
decisions and support older adults to remain healthy and engaged as long
as possible," said Dr. Susan Denburg
director of the Labarge Optimal
Aging Initiative and associate vice-president, faculty of health
sciences at McMaster.


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