Modernize Health System: Better Overall Care
Data must be harnessed to help shape and reform clinical care, public health strategy, and health system efficiency. Only through real-time access and sharing of "big picture" health data can Ontario achieve a learning health system, one that can intuitively and continually improve, which translates to better and equitable health outcomes for everyone. When your health data is connected with other health data across all provincial care settings (e.g., doctor's offices, hospitals, labs, researchers, etc.), health care analysts and planners are able to track and evaluate the quality and efficiency of Ontario's overall health system and determine how not only to make the system work better for you and everyone across Ontario, but also modernize the system so that it improves the lives of future generations.
The Cost of Dying
Challenge: Canadians have expressed a desire to die at home. However, end-of-life health care, mainly from acute care hospitalization in the last three months of life, makes up approximately 10% ($4.7 billion annually) of all government-funded health care in Ontario.
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How health data was used: Using health administrative databases, a research team in collaboration with Ottawa Hospital developed a tool to predict who needs end-of-life care. The web-based calculator called for RESPECT (Risk Evaluation for Support: Predictions for Elder in the Community Tool) uses big data available from ICES to develop precision health algorithms that can accurately calculate how long a person has left to live based on their responses to questions about the diseases they have and their ability to care for themselves. This tool enables patients and their caregivers to make informed decisions customized to their needs.
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Result: In response, the Ontario Ministry of Health introduced a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) indicator that helps health care organizations estimate the need for palliative care among their clients and identify individuals who may benefit from a palliative care approach. Additionally, the Champlain Local Health Integration Network’s palliative home care program is planning a pilot project that will use the RESPECT calculator to support service delivery in retirement homes in Ottawa.