February 2014
News Release: Government of Canada Funds Research on Teams to Strengthen Healthcare - Helping the healthcare system work better for Canadians
The Government of Canada is providing McMaster University with $6.5 million over three years for a research project that will evaluate the impact of healthcare teams on patient outcomes and the effectiveness the healthcare system.
The research project is called Teams Advancing Patient Experience: Strengthening Quality (TAPESTRY). McMaster University researchers will evaluate various team-based models in different primary healthcare settings, beginning with the McMaster Family Health Team in Hamilton, Ontario, and then branching out to sites in other provinces.
The project involves four key areas of research:
- Examining ways to improve collaboration within the primary healthcare team and with community resources to better meet patients' healthcare needs;
- Using trained community volunteers to assist the patient in linking better with his or her healthcare team;
- Using an electronic personal health record to facilitate communication and information exchange; and
- Assisting the patient in progressing seamlessly through the healthcare system using system navigation activities.
The project is intended to assist older adults and other at-risk populations in meeting their health goals and staying healthy longer to avoid the need for intensive and costly interventions such as hospitalization. By reaching out to these individuals and creating a community around them, the project expects to positively impact their health so they can continue to live at home. Avoiding more intense services translates to cost savings for the healthcare system.
Provincial and territorial governments are applying team-based care as a promising option to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery. The resources and knowledge generated through this research project will be useful for healthcare providers, organizations and governments in developing new models of care to meet the needs of their population.
In addition to federal funding, McMaster University has obtained funding through a donation from the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative, as well as support from the Government of Ontario and the McMaster Family Health Organization.
