Skip to main content
Back to Top
Back

Events

Event Schedule

The focus of our conference this year is Quality Matters, the health system quality framework on how to realize excellent care for all. Sessions have been developed to align with how to build a quality system, and support the advancement of a just, patient-centred, and high performing health system committed to relentless improvement at the local, regional and/or provincial level.

Join us for Canada's largest conference on quality in health care as we share experiences and best practices. Together, let’s make our health system healthier.


Conference Schedule


Joshua Tepper, President and CEO of Health Quality Ontario speaking at Health Quality Transformation 2015.


TIME

SCHEDULE

7:00 – 8:30

Registration & Breakfast + Patient Networking Breakfast

8:30 – 9:00

Welcome: Dr. Joshua Tepper, President and CEO, Health Quality Ontario - Plenary (Hall F)

9:00 – 9:40

Keynote Speaker: David Giuliano - Plenary (Hall F)

9:40 – 10:15

Presentation of the Minister’s Medal Honouring Excellence in Health Quality and Safety 2016 – Plenary (Hall F)

10:15 – 10:45

Break / Travel Time

10:45 - 12:00

Morning Breakout Sessions

12:00 - 1 :00

Lunch Break: Exhibit Hall/Poster viewing

1:00 - 2:15

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

2:15 - 2:45

Break / Travel Time

2:45 - 3:15

Dr. Bob Bell, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care - Plenary (Hall F)

3:15 - 4:15

Keynote Speaker: Helen Bevan – Plenary (Hall F)

4:15 - 4:30

Closing Remarks – Plenary (Hall F)

Morning Breakout Sessions

Below are the morning HQT2016 breakout sessions.


Woman speaking at a conference to a small crowd


Sessions have been developed based on the factors for building a culture of quality as outlined in Quality Matters.

Legend:

Engage patients and the public

Redesign the system to support quality care

Help professionals and caregivers thrive

Ensure technology works for all

Support innovation and spread knowledge

Monitor performance with quality in mind

Build a quality-driven culture


Speaker(s): Julia Abelson, Subi Bhandari, Maria Judd, Lesley Moody, Simron Singh

Moderator: Andrew McLeod, Program Lead, Patient and Family Engagement, Ontario Hospital Ontario Hospital Association

More and more patients, caregivers and families are being involved in designing a health care system that reflects their needs but efforts to demonstrate the value of engagement through evaluation has lagged behind. This session begins by exploring the importance of measuring the impact of patient engagement. Panellists will then explore the value of patient engagement in specific projects and the impact it can have on the patient experience and outcomes. The session will conclude with concrete tools and resources that can be applied to clearly demonstrate the value of patient engagement efforts.

Those who design and deliver engagement activities, as well as those who participate in it will deliver this session.


Target Audience
Health care providers; administrators; patients; families; caregivers and members of the public


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Understand the importance of engaging patients/caregivers/families in various levels of care, from the direct level of care between patients and their providers to the system level of care where health policy is shaped and delivered. We will show the impact engagement has on improving care design and delivery across these levels of care, as well as on patient experience and their outcomes of care.
  2. Take away practical examples of the models used to measure and gain the Metrics on the value of patient engagement, applicable to their home organization or institution.

Speaker(s): Corey Bernard, Laurie Dunn, Marisa Granieri, Isra Khalil, Jennifer Schipper, Calvin J. Young

Moderator: Claude Lurette, Co-Chair, Patient, Family and Public Advisors Council, Health Quality Ontario

Health Quality Ontario launched its first Patient, Family and Public Advisors Council in the fall of 2015. Over the course of the year, there have been many important reflections, key learning and thoughtful observations gathered by staff, leaders and council members as this work, structure and vision of the Council has (and continues to) evolve through this new and exciting partnership taking shape at Health Quality Ontario.

Through the use of video, photography, verbal and storyboard presentations, session attendees have an opportunity to explore and revisit this journey, The takeaways will be “how to” instructions key learning and next steps for successes based upon the experiences, challenges and solutions gathered by Health Quality Ontario in developing a council at the system level.


Target Audience
Patients, Advisors, people leading engagement work (or beginning in this process), health care providers, administrators and system planners


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Receive an overview of the initial vision for developing a council at HQO and an understanding (and importance) of how this vision has evolved over the course of the first year through partnering with the council members   
  2. Gain an understanding of the life-cycle and stages of growth a council can experience in building a cohesive group and mutually beneficial partnership with a complex organization like HQO
  3. Receive actionable suggestions/guidance to achieve success in developing a council based upon the learning and experiences from HQO Advisors Council

Speaker(s): Tai M. Huynh, Cian Knights, Jeared Strachan

Moderator: Doris Grinspun, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario

We are seeing more and more examples of patients, caregivers and members of the public being engaged in the design and development of health care programs and policies. As a result of these partnerships our health system is becoming increasingly responsive to the needs and preferences of patients.

This session will explore the exciting initiatives that are involving diverse populations to create programs that are responsive to the needs of those who are underserved or marginalized in our health system.  Patients, caregivers, health care providers and system leaders will discuss successes and challenges and offer words of wisdom to those who are embarking on taking patient engagement to an even deeper level by finding ways to include all voices, not just those who are traditionally engaged.


Target Audience
Patients, Advisors, people leading or involved in engagement work (or beginning in this process), health care providers, administrators and system planners


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Become more aware of the opportunities that exist when engaging with diverse populations and explore the challenges and opportunities that exist from this work.
  2. Hear from experts in the field who are engaging with diverse populations and producing innovative programs and projects as a result. 

Speaker(s): Catherine Brown, Peter Donnelly, Susan Fitzpatrick, Dr. David Kaplan, Nancy Naylor

Moderator: Angela Morin, Board Member, Health Quality Ontario

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Patients First Proposal sets out a direction for health system transformation, including changes intended to improve integration and address structural issues that contribute to inequities in care. If passed, the Patients First Act will introduce an expanded role for the Local Health Integration Networks, including in home and community care, primary care and population health planning.
This panel discussion will focus on the ways in which these changes, particularly in home care, can enhance the quality care agenda in Ontario and improve patient experience and outcomes.

  • Discussions with focus on: the opportunity Patients First provides to push forward the quality agenda in Ontario 

  • How these changes can be undertaken in an accountable and transparent way

  • How we can know changes has been successful

  • What aspects of the current health system we can build on.


Target Audience
Patients, families, healthcare providers, administrators, students, policy makers, researchers


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Develop a greater understanding of the design and implementation of the Patients First Proposal
  2. Discuss how the structural changes proposed as part of the Patients First legislation can be leveraged to advance the quality agenda in Ontario

Speaker(s): Phil Klassen, David Koczerginski, Tracey MacArthur, George Mihalakakos, Camille Quenneville

Moderator: Dr. Irfan Dhalla, Vice President, Evidence Development and Standards, Health Quality Ontario

This session will introduce Health Quality Ontario’s Quality Standards. Discussions will include how they came to be and why; how they will improve care and reduce variation across the Province and how they will be implemented and measured.

The session will focus on the first three Quality Standards:

  • Institutional care of Schizophrenia
  • Behavioural Symptoms of Dementia
  • Care of Major Depression across all sectors. 

In addition to an overview of the development process, a panel of clinicians and patients will address how these standards will affect care from various perspectives. 


Target Audience
Clinicians, administrators, patients, public


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Gain an understanding of the why, what and how of the new Quality Standards program at Health Quality Ontario from the clinician and patient perspective
  2. Understand the process for development, implementation and measurement of the first three Quality Standards for Schizophrenia, Major Depression and Behavioural Symptoms of Dementia.

Speaker(s): Dr. Helen Bevan, Dr. Susan A Shaw, Dr. Bruce Stewart

Moderator: Dr. Ross Baker (Professor, University of Toronto IHPME, Program Director, Quality Improvement and Patient Safety - QIPS)

Quality improvement improves care at the front line but is often presented in isolation from broader strategies aimed at improving organizational and system performance. This panel discussion will focus on sharing examples of how quality improvement can be used to promote organization, cross-organization and system transformation. Panel members will also share their experiences in broadening front line engagement to move from small-scale projects to a broader transformation agenda.


Target Audience
Health care leaders, clinicians, administrators, policy makers, patients and caregivers


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Learn how quality improvement strategies can be leveraged to promote improved organizational and system performance

  2. Identify strategies to enhance capacity building within and across organizations

  3. Understand how capacity building strategies can be used to advance the transformation agenda.

Speaker(s): Frank Gavin, Murray Glendining, Brian Lewis, Fiona A. Miller, Brian O’Rourke

Moderator: Nancy Sikich, Director, Heath Technology Assessments, Health Quality Ontario

Equity and efficiency are two of the six core domains of health care quality set out in Quality Matters the province-wide framework for quality. Achieving an equitable and efficient health care system often means balancing competing priorities such as need, cost, and patient preferences and values.

Health technology assessment provides a lens to assess these priorities, helping to determine which health "technologies" (e.g. diagnostic tests, surgical implants, health care services and programs, etc.) improve health, provide good value for money, and balance the unique perspectives of patients, health care professionals, the public and the health system. This session will explore the role of health technology assessment in promoting efficiency and equity in health care.


Target Audience
Health system leaders, government officials, academics, hospital executives and administrators, patients, families, caregivers and members of the public.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Understand how HTA can be used to drive health system quality, with particular focus on equity and efficiency
  2. Appreciate the need to consider a variety of perspectives to achieve an equitable and efficient health care system.

Speaker(s): Gregg Brown, Ahmed Jakda, Michael Sherar, Sue Vanderbent

Moderator: Chantale LeClerc, Chief Executive Officer, Champlain LHIN

As the population in Ontario continues to change, the health care system must adapt to meet their evolving needs. This session will highlight how the recent establishment of the Ontario Palliative Care Network, a partnership of community stakeholders, health service providers and health-systems planners, is building a coordinated, standardized approach for delivering hospice palliative care services in the province. With strong, sustainable partnerships and knowledge, such as the recent release of Health Quality Ontario's Palliative Care at the End of Life report, we have a greater understanding of some of the hospice palliative care services that Ontarians receive.  

This session will highlight how the Ontario Palliative Care Network will use key findings in the report, hear what is happening in the field and provide an opportunity to discuss what needs to be done from the patient, family, caregiver and health care provider perspectives to achieve excellent hospice palliative and end-of-life care in Ontario.

Discussions will focus on how to create truly patient and caregiver centred hospice palliative care in Ontario.


Target Audience
Health system leaders, hospital executives, administrators and planners, clinicians, patient relations leaders, patients, families, caregivers and members of the public.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Learn how the hospice palliative care system is changing in Ontario
  2. Learn about current pockets of excellence in the field, new approaches and partnerships being implemented in the palliative care system to achieve greater integration and health outcomes for all Ontarians

Speaker(s): Dilys Haughten, Deborah Kennedy, Lucy Pereira, Dr. Samir Sinha, Dr. Frances Wright, Jodi Younger

Moderator: Fredrika Scarth, Director, Health Quality Ontario Liaison and Program Development, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

Sharing our experiences is an effective method for discovering innovative ideas, spreading change, and facilitating the delivery of high quality care.  

This session, an assembly of the top ranked abstracts submitted to Health Quality Transformation Presents: Quality Matters 2016, will feature presentations that demonstrate innovative approaches to quality improvement planning, measurement and the achievement of results over time.

These compelling presentations illustrate implementation of leading practices and movement of key quality indicators aligned with attributes of a high performing health care system


Target Audience
Individuals from all sectors who are interested in how others are making changes to improve the quality of care they deliver and sustain and spread improvement. This includes patients, families, caregivers and members of the public.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Discover how health system providers and leaders across Ontario have translated knowledge into practice and learn of innovations and initiatives that have successfully transformed health care delivery and promote a culture of quality.
  2. Engage in stimulating discussions and obtain ideas, lessons learned and information that may be implemented to make improvements to the health care system.

Speaker(s): Dr. Alan Forster, Dr. Noah Ivers, Dr. Andrea Moser, Dr. Amol Verma

Moderator: Darren Larsen, Chief Medical Information Officer, OntarioMD

Health care organizations, such as provincial agencies and organizations, often provide information and data to clinicians and administrators as a way to support better care and outcomes to patients.

This data typically includes performance over-time, meaningful comparators and suggested next steps. This type of feedback has been demonstrated as an effective way to improve care.

How the information is presented matters, and can affect the effectiveness of these reports.

In this session, leading organizations will highlight methods on designing and delivering evidence based reports to maximize their effectiveness. To conclude, stories on how providers have used this information as a tool to improve care will be shared.


Target Audience
Individuals from organizations that provide information back to clinicians/ administrators for quality improvement purposes along with those interested in reporting.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Learn about leading practices in audit and feedback programs from Ontario and other jurisdictions
  2. Learn how clinicians are using information from audit and feedback reports for quality improvement purposes

Speaker(s): Emily Nicholas Angl, Dr. Chaim Bell, Anna Greenberg, Dr. Jessica Liu, Dr. Hsien Seow

Moderator: Kim Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)

Many health organizations prioritize listening to the patient voice and using that to drive improvements in patient experience.

While most organizations use structured surveys to measure patient experience, there are an increasing number of less structured avenues in which patients’ feedback can be captured.

In this session, learn about how the wide array of patient feedback can be analyzed in a systematic way that is actionable to providers for quality improvement, informative to system-level decision makers for planning, and meaningful to patients and caregivers when reported.


Target Audience
Health system leaders, researchers, academics, providers across all sectors of the health system, patients, families, caregivers and members of the public


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Learn about how complementary unstructured and structured patient feedback can be used to improve patient experience.
  2. Learn how these sources of patient experience information can be systematically analyzed to inform planning and quality improvement.

Speaker(s): Dr. Rob Annis, Dr. Amir Ginzburg, Betty-Lou Kristy, Graham Woodward

Moderators: Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull, Chief, Clinical Quality, Health Quality Ontario & Jill Tettmann, Chief Executive Officer, North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)

Clinical leadership enables the opportunity to influence positive change that results in improved patient outcomes, and experience of care. 

Through clinical leadership and collaboration, health system partners are advancing quality at the regional level. This is being done in meaningful ways that is having a positive impact on patients, families and caregivers.

This session will discuss effective approaches used by clinical leadership to:

  • Engage regional health system partners to align quality improvement efforts
  • Engage patients, families and caregivers to build on and help accelerate existing efforts to promote a culture of quality

Target Audience
Health system thought leaders, health care professionals and providers in all sectors of the health system including patients, families, caregivers and members of the public


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Learn innovative strategies that are advancing quality at the regional level through clinical engagement and leadership
  2. Discuss key lessons learned and network with others who are advancing quality at the regional level.

Speaker(s): Kelly Gillis, Derek Graham, Dr. Bob Howard, Elizabeth Juraschka, Sudha Kutty, Tammy Maguire, Fred West

Moderator: Dr. Richard McLean, Vice President, Medical Affairs & Quality, Hamilton Health Sciences & Sudha Kutty, Director, Quality Improvement Strategies and Adoption, Health Quality Ontario

To improve care, organizations must adopt a culture of quality.

A key tool to support the development of a culture of quality is the provincial Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). QIPs are a formal blueprint on how a health care organization will address quality issues and meet its quality improvement goals. Through the development of the plan, the organization demonstrates a public commitment to improving the quality of care it provides to its patients, residents or clients.  

This session will highlight some of the different ways organizations are using the QIP to support the development of a culture of quality.  Discussion will highlight the ways QIPs support are being used to:

  • Support cross-sector collaboration on shared regional goals
  • Embed patient engagement in quality

Finally, this session will profile some of the collaborative work being done with LHINs to support alignment between local and provincial efforts.


Target Audience
Health care leaders, clinicians and quality improvement professionals, patients/clients/residents and caregivers


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Discover how organizations and their patients are coming together to develop collaborative quality improvement goals, using the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) as a framework.
  2. Learn how the LHINs and health sector organizations are using the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) to support the development and long-term sustainability of a culture of quality.

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Below are the morning HQT2016 breakout sessions.


Man at a breakout session speaking on a microphone


Sessions have been developed based on the factors for building a culture of quality as outlined in Quality Matters.

Legend:

Engage patients and the public

Redesign the system to support quality care

Help professionals and caregivers thrive

Ensure technology works for all

Support innovation and spread knowledge

Monitor performance with quality in mind

Build a quality-driven culture


Speaker(s): Pat Capponi, Robert Hawke, Amy Snow, Jenna Tenn-Yuk

Moderator: Joanne MacPhail, Patient Advisor, Health Quality Ontario

Storytelling is an important method for patient and caregiver engagement, health care staff education, and a key driver for system change.

This session will explore the educational and transformative potential of health care stories and storytelling processes. The session will explore how health care stories, shared from the perspective of patients, their caregivers and health care professionals, can be used to help motivate and inform organizational learning and health system change.

The main themes discussed will include: 

  • Key concepts and practices for effective storytelling
  • Using stories as part of patient, caregiver and health care staff education
  • Identifying calls to action within stories that can lead to health system change

Target Audience
Patients, Advisors, people leading or involved in engagement work (or beginning in this process), health care providers, administrators and system planners


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Key concepts, purposes and potential impacts of storytelling
  2. Tips and strategies for sharing stories in effective ways
  3. How stories can be used as bodies of knowledge that drives organizational learning and health system change

Speaker(s): Lianne Jeffs, Kirsten Krull, Bruce Squires, Margo Twohig

Moderator: Adalsteinn Brown, Director, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto

Quality Matters is a province-wide framework for quality. This framework focuses on promoting a more coordinated and systematic approach to improving quality across the province. Patients, families, caregivers and health care providers all stand to benefit from greater clarity of focus and improved coordination in the system.

How can we harness and channel this sense of shared purpose? How can the many players in our health care system contribute to a more integrated vision for quality? This panel discussion will address the ways in which patients, families, caregivers, health care providers and policy-makers can engage with and act on some of the major themes that have surfaced through Quality Matters, including:  

  • Understanding what quality means from a range of perspectives and measuring and monitoring the performance of the system against those goals
  • Embedding quality within the cultures of our health care organizations and institutions and developing leaders who will champion cultures of quality
  • Organizing our health care system in ways that support the delivery of the highest quality of care
  • The many key enablers that enhance quality in the system—partnering with patients and the public, using technology effectively and supporting innovation

Target Audience
Health system leaders (e.g. policymakers, front-line managers and clinicians, patient and family advisors involved in quality initiatives)


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Understand how Quality Matters can serve as a powerful guide for local priority setting and contribute to a more coordinated and systematic approach to improving quality across Ontario
  2. Gain perspective on how this provincial quality framework can be applied to drive local and institutional quality initiatives

Speaker(s): Dr. Reena Dhatt, David Fry, Chiquita Hansen, Dr. Sarah Newbery, David Schieck

Moderator: Dr. David Kaplan, Provincial Primary Care Lead, Health Quality Ontario

This session will focus on the perspectives of primary care and home care quality. It will also emphasize how improvement efforts should focus both with practice setting and on efforts to support improvements in the delivery of integrated care. Supporting patients with complex needs though the Health Links approach will provide a case example population approaches to improving care. Other topics will feature the use of quality standards and practice levels supports.


Target Audience
Health care providers; administrators; patients; families; caregivers and members of the public


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Develop a greater understanding of provider perspectives both in Ontario and internationally on how improvements are being made for patients with complex care needs.
  2. Understand how improvements within the community and across sectors are achieving better patient outcomes (case study Health Links)

Speaker(s): Mike Auty, Christa Haanstra, Peter Harris, David Harvey, Lisa Levin, Laura Vissers

Moderator: Susan Brien, Director, Public Reports, Health System Performance, Health Quality Ontario

This session builds upon Health Quality Ontario’s report on caregiver distress, The Reality of Caring. Through a panel discussion with caregivers and health care providers, participants will gain an understanding of the critical role that informal caregivers play, the challenges they face and supports that they need. Participants will also be provided with examples of how organizations are working with caregivers to improve the experience of informal caregivers as well as the patients they care for.


Target Audience
Patients, families, healthcare providers, administrators, students, policy makers, researchers


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Understand the context and issues related to informal caregiving and caregiver distress
  2. Learn how engaging informal caregivers in the work of health system organizations improves patient and caregiver experience
  3. Learn about evolving programs and opportunities to better support informal caregivers
  4. Inspire hearts and minds with examples of actions that can be undertaken to reduce caregiver distress and improve the patient and caregiver experience

Speaker(s): Joy Klopp, Dr. Clare Liddy, Walter Rojenko

Moderators: Jennie Pickard, Director, Partnerships, Health Quality Ontario & Dr. Chris Hayes, Medical Director, Quality and Performance, St. Michael's Hospital

The "Triple Aim" has become a dominant model for health system improvement and refers to simultaneous attempts to improve the patient experience of care, improve the health of populations at large, and reduce costs. 
More recently, an additional Aim, the Quadruple Aim has been gaining attention in recognizing the critical link between health care provider well-being, patient experience and quality care. In its framework Quality Matters, Health Quality Ontario speaks to the importance of creating environments where health care providers and caregivers can thrive.

This session explores the importance of the Quadruple Aim concept as an enabler of quality care and discusses strategies to create environments that help to promote positive and meaningful patient experiences for all.


Target Audience
Health care leaders, clinicians, administrators, human relations personnel, quality improvement managers and leaders, policy makers, patients and caregivers


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Learn why the Quadruple Aim is being increasingly recognized as a key enabler of quality care

  2. Learn about factors that help create a culture where patients and health care providers can thrive

  3. Learn from current strategies how to promote environments that support positive and meaningful professional - patient experiences

Speaker(s): Neil Fraser, Madhu Hampole, Susy Hota, Susan Poutanen, Ron R. Relph, Harindra C. Wijeysundera

Moderator: Shirlee Sharkey, President and CEO, Saint Elizabeth

This session will explore the benefits of linking the worlds of health technology assessment and quality improvement. Thinking creatively about bringing these disciplines together can maximize value. To do so requires an appreciation of how the principles of health technology assessment and quality improvement can be used both separately and together. These issues will be explored through an examination of two different case studies.


Target Audience
Quality improvement staff at hospitals, frontline clinicians, academics, patients, families, caregivers and members of the public.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Appreciate how the principles of health technology assessment and quality improvement can be used to improve care, using case studies of cutting-edge health technology.
  2. Understand how real world data can complement data from clinical trials in informing decisions about which health care services are provided in Ontario and for whom.

Speaker(s): Kimberley Floyd, Edie Hart, Jeremy Theal

Moderator: Lee Fairclough, Vice-President, Quality Improvement, Health Quality Ontario

Can technology enable the delivery of higher quality care? This session will explore future opportunities in Ontario - be it virtual care, embedding evidence in our electronic systems that support care delivery, improving integration of care or engaging patients in their own care. Experiences of those that have not only implemented but evaluated the impact on quality improvement of these approaches will be the focus of this session. This will complement an overview of Ontario’s digital 2.0 strategy. Participants will be engaged in discussion of near term possibilities to align our quality and technology goals in the future.


Target Audience
Clinicians, health care leaders, and quality improvement professionals, patients, families, caregivers, clients/residents and members of the public.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Discover how technology (be it virtual care, embedding evidence in our electronic systems that support care delivery, improving integration of care or engaging patients in their own care.

  2. Engage in a discussion including experiences of those that have not only implemented but evaluated the impact on quality improvement of these approaches will be the focus of this session.

Speaker(s): Dr. Timothy Jackson, Dr. Kyle Kirkham, Dr. Robin McLeod

Moderator: Dr. Tim Rutledge, President & CEO of North York General Hospital

This session will explore the use of audit and feedback to improve care in surgery.  Discussions will explore how data can be used to drive change in surgical quality.

Structure of the conversation will:

  • Outline a variety of reports to provide information on surgical performance, surgical outcomes, and avoiding adverse events

  • Discuss Enhanced Recovery after Surgery

  • Review hospital reports on preoperative assessment


Target Audience
Health system leaders, surgeons, surgical teams, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other hospital front line staff, patients, families, caregivers and members of the public.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Learn from the experience of others how data and quality improvement can drive change in the field of surgery
  2. Identify data that can be used to transform surgical quality

Speaker(s): Dr. Daryl Bainbridge, Dr. Sarosh Khalid-Khan, Tracy Kova, Dawn Major, Greg Mitchell, Carol Mulder, Agnes Tong, Susan Warner, Amanda Westwood-Smith

Moderator: Paul Huras, Chief Executive Officer, South East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)

Sharing our experiences is an effective method for discovering innovative ideas, spreading change, and facilitating the delivery of high quality care.  

This session, an assembly of the top ranked abstracts submitted to Health Quality Transformation Presents: Quality Matters 2016, will feature presentations that demonstrate innovative approaches to quality improvement planning, measurement and the achievement of results over time.

These compelling presentations illustrate implementation of leading practices and movement of key quality indicators aligned with attributes of a high performing health care system.

Target Audience
Individuals who are interested in how others are making changes to improve the quality of care they deliver and sustain and spread improvement.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Discover how health system providers and leaders across Ontario have translated knowledge into practice and learn of innovations and initiatives that have successfully transformed health care delivery and promote a culture of quality.
  2. Engage in stimulating discussions and obtain ideas, lessons learned and information that may be implemented to make improvements to the health care system.

Speaker(s): Emily Nicholas Angl, Anna Greenberg Kira Leeb, Rachel Solomon

Moderator: Anna Greenberg, Vice-President, Health System Performace, Health Quality Ontario

Innovations in digital technologies have brought with them exciting opportunities and novel challenges to drive change in the health system.

This session will explore the ‘art and science’ of public reporting in this new frontier of digital accessibility.

Themes covered include:

  • The evolution of public reporting
  • The audience and purpose of public reporting
  • Effective storytelling
  • Presenting data clearly and effectively with the use of data visualizations.

Target Audience
Health care professionals, health system thought leaders, patients, families, caregivers, members of the public, policy makers and providers in all sectors of the health system.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Discuss and hear perspectives on what makes for effective storytelling and how to effectively use data visualizations for greater impact.
  2. Learn about the evolution of public reporting and how we arrived at this juncture as well as some thoughts on where public reporting might be heading in the future.

Speaker(s): Dr. David Henry, Dr. Tara Kiran, Maegan Prummel

Moderator: Mae Katt, Nurse Practitioner, Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School

Evidence has shown that economic and social variables, known as the social determinants of health, play an important role in determining the health status, health care and health outcomes of individuals and groups.

Monitoring performance of the health system without taking the social determinants of health into account creates a peril of averages where differences in health status, health care and health outcomes are masked.  

This session will discuss the recent progress in Ontario to advance measurement at the various levels – system, regional, facility - for the goal of further understanding and reducing health inequities.

How this information is currently being used to guide policy and quality improvement work will be shared.


Target Audience
All individuals interested in how measurement can be used to understand and close the various gaps in health equity.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Understand the role and importance of measurement in identifying inequities and opportunities for improvement.
  2. Learn about how measurement is currently being used to drive change within the health system through policy and quality improvement levers.

Speaker(s): Dr. Mike Kirlew, Devon MacFarlane, Dr. Meb Rashid, Lindsay Windhager

Moderator: Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull, Chief, Clinical Quality, Health Quality Ontario

It is recognized that we cannot have a high-quality health care system for some – the benefits need to extend to all. Equity is one of six dimensions of a high-quality health system. The aim of this break-out session is to present various projects that have adopted a “health equity lens” to decrease gaps in outcomes for select populations. Through first-hand accounts, presenters will provide an overview of their projects, challenges and opportunities, lessons learned, results to date, and steps going forward.


Target Audience
Patients, families, caregivers and members of the public, experts and leaders in health equity, housing, community support, social services, quality improvement, performance reporting, evidence-based care, clinicians, health service delivery organizations, LHINs, health links, government,


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Understand how equity is a critical component in providing patient-centred care and how it cannot be overlooked if you intend to decrease gaps in outcomes between populations.
  2. Explore efforts to address inequity in Ontario and learn strategies to address them.

Speaker(s): Patti Cochrane, Rheta Fanizza, Melissa Farrell, Mel Kahan, Karen Michell

Moderator: Donna Cripps, Chief Executive Officer, Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant, Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)

This session will focus on how Ontario is improving the integration of care and will showcase the Integrated Funding Model (IFM) program and Adopting Research to Improve Care (ARTIC) Program. Discussions will focus on the innovations, challenges, successes, and lessons learned providing high quality integrated care in Ontario. 

This panel discussion will discuss the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s vision introduce for integrated care in Ontario.

Discussions will focus on how the vision aligns with the Patients First agenda and how the concepts of integrated care and bundled payment are being addressed.

Teams from the IFM program and ARTIC will present on how they are working towards improved integration of care.


Target Audience
Organizational leaders, quality improvement leads and specialists, policy advisors, implementation experts, front line service providers, and patients, families, caregivers and members of the public.


Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:

  1. Develop an understanding of how various parts of the healthcare system are collaborating on the delivery of integrated care
  2. Learn about the Ministry’s vision for integrated care models and key lessons learned on spread and scale with others who have demonstrated success in delivering integrated care. Learn about what the path to sustainability for integrated models of care could look like in Ontario

Let’s make our health system healthier

Join Our Patient, Family and Public Advisors Program

Patients, families and the public are central to improving health quality.


Man smiling

Sign up for our newsletter

Are you passionate about quality health care for all Ontarians? Stay in-the-know about our newest programs, reports and news.

Health Quality Connect - Health Quality Ontario's newsletter - on an iPad and a cell phone