Qualitycast North

In this episode, we return to Bulkley Valley District Hospital in Smithers, Northwest BC who, by combining high-level collaboration between local physicians, front line staff and operational leaders with quality improvement methodology, have generated startling improvements in what matters to staff throughout the hospital. Today’s guest Dr. Kalah Blackstock, a local family physician and the Physician Quality Improvement Advisor for Northern Health takes us through their work building a healthier and more satisfied workforce whilst at the same time delivering a QI masterclass in multi-stakeholder collaboration and problem solving. Special shout out from Dr. Blackstock to the incredible team who made this work happen: Irindu Liyanage, Levi Giles, Ashley van der Meulen, Kate Niethammer, Darren Jakubec, Elena Raykov, Jen Comeau, Sophia Oumzil, Darcie Wadley, Cormac Hikisch, Billiejean Beaubien, and Emily Beirnes.Their collective efforts exemplify what can be achieved when people come together with shared purpose, curiosity, and care for both patients and one another.IHI Framework for Improving Joy in Work

As overfilled hospitals everywhere are struggling to cope with a busy winter of respiratory disease and influenza, many in healthcare are calling for a more “upstream” approach to preventing Emergency Department visits and hospital admissions. But intervening upstream is more difficult than it sounds. Today’s guests have done just this. Talking us through their award-winning, quality improvement work in reducing ED visits and hospital admissions for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease are Donna Jouantapp, Lina Alsakran and Dr. Zoe Pullan from Cowichan on Vancouver Island. In this interview, we learn how a well-designed project with a dedicated, inclusive and nimble team can overcome obstacles on the path to sustainable, cost effective and patient-centered care. Links: The INSPIRED COPD Outreach Program and COPD Care and Education Nova Scotia

Listeners will be familiar with the physician-led healthcare quality improvement work featured on this podcast, but they may not be familiar with how this work is formally supported at the Provincial level. In this episode, we interview Cindy Myles, the Vice President of the Specialist Services Committee, who gives us a primer on British Columbia’s unique, Joint Collaborative Committees and the importance of multipartite collaboration when addressing healthcare’s “wicked” problems. We hear how collaboration generates more sustainable change and how, during this challenging time for healthcare delivery, working together to improve the system can bring us hope for healthcare’s future.Links:SSC NewsThe Exchange, a database of quality improvement projects supported by SSC and the Shared Care Committee JCC Website

In our current technological age, the most successful information platforms are those that provide exactly the information the user needs quickly and accurately. This is the underlying premise behind British Columbia’s hugely successful medical information platform Pathways. In today’s episode we interview its two eminent founders Dr. Kathleen Ross and Dr. Tracy Monk, about its early origin story and how it developed into the universal healthcare provider directory and an amazing, multifunctional, timesaving and educational resource in its current form. We hear how their strong guiding principles drove development of Pathways’ form and function, how listening to users led to some of its best features and how quality improvement through innovation is not only rewarding but also fun.Pathways Links:To register go to www.pathwaysbc.ca and select "request access" at lower rightInfo pagehttps://pathwaysbc.ca/infoBackgrounder https://pathwaysbc.ca/ci/8684

In this gem of an interview, we chat with Christina Krause, the CEO of Health Quality BC about a whole range of topics around patient safety from the role of Provincial quality and safety organizations and the new BC Patient Safety Strategy to what’s changed in our understanding of safer patient care. Through personal stories and experiences, Christina shares valuable insights into safer care through listening to patients’ and families, the importance of psychological safety, and why everyone should just take just a little more time to understand one another’s viewpoints. Listen and let Christina’s infectious enthusiasm bring you to a new understanding of safer patient care.Links: HQBC Patient Safety StrategyHQBC “What matters to you?”

In this episode we feature another award-winning, quality improvement project this time based in Victoria, Vancouver Island. Our guests are Alanna Summers, Program Manager and a registered psychiatric nurse, Jennifer Sandburg, Team Lead occupational therapist, and Jane Dolan, MHSU Clinical recreational therapist, from the South Island Mental Health and Substance Use team. Starting with the gap in care they first identified, they take us through how they developed their cost effective and successful Bridging Care program for patients in mental health crisis. This program not only provides effective, patient-centered care but has also reduced hospital admissions and inpatient length of stay. We hear how local healthcare leadership had the foresight to support the original vision, powerful testimonials from some of the program’s patients, and how developing the program itself brought positive benefits to the provider team. Links:Counselling, Treatment & Recovery | Island HealthNewsAdults experiencing mental health challenges benefit from Island Health’s Bridging Care Program | Island Health

In this episode, we head upstream in our health system with this podcast’s first ever guests from the public health sector. Northern Health’s Medical Health Officer Dr. Diana Bark and Director of Public Health Lara Frederick take us through their QI work identifying, analyzing, and addressing a gap in dental health screening and dental caries prevention in pre-kindergarten age children in Northeast BC. We learn how QI methodology can be applied to complex problems in public health and how, through enhanced community engagement, their team provided valuable, preventative, dental care and improved health equity at the same time.Links:https://www.northernhealth.ca/services/programs/dental-health-program-for-children#baby-0-to-12-months-old

Visiting specialist clinics are a lifeline for patients with chronic disease in rural and remote communities across the North. They save patients travel time and costs and also provide care in context of their own local communities and available supports. But patient non-attendance at these clinics can negatively impact the quality of their longitudinal care leading to increased morbidity. In this episode, Dr. Angela How takes us through her quality improvement work based at her rural visiting specialist rheumatology clinic in Hazelton improving patient attendance through a culturally safe approach incorporating motivational interviewing techniques. At the same time, we hear how her 28 year commitment to her Hazelton clinic has been both personally rewarding and helped to build local trust by providing equitable patient care.

Our topic in this episode is the power and potential of good data for improving patient care. In a broad ranging interview with our guests Dr. Cole Stanley and Gayle Grout from Health Data Coalition (HDC), we hear about the origins and goals of HDC and how the aggregation of primary care electronic medical record data can provide Primary Care providers reassurance and drive improvements in care. We talk about the importance of feedback loops, the benefits and dangers of comparison and how such data can support a whole system quality approach. HDC is a great example of a how a non-profit, collaborative, physician-led and governed data coalition can drive better patient care whilst maintaining privacy.Health Data Coalition – Better Information. Better Care. Better Patient Outcomes.HDC Bright Spots: Bright Spots – Health Data CoalitionHDC MD's Corner: MD’s Corner – Health Data CoalitionLinkedIn: Health Data Coalition of BC | LinkedIn

As season 4 comes to and end and we enter our 5th year of the podcast with season 5, Shyr and Lee reflect on their favourite highlights from last season. With twice as many episodes as previous seasons, there was a lot to choose from and of course all our guests left an indelible impression. What can we look forward to in the season ahead? More great Quality Improvement projects, high profile guests and maybe even one or two surprises. Don’t want to miss an episode? Subscribe to our channel on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.