Opening the Front Door of the Healthcare System: Primary Care with Dr. Tara Kiran and Sandra Epp
Does the answer to improving the primary care system lie in the ideas of patients and the public? In this episode we discuss Canada’s primary care crisis and how the OurCare project is involving the public in reimagining primary care. A family doctor and renowned primary care researcher, Tara Kiran investigates how changes in the health care system impact patients, particularly the most vulnerable. In her research and practice, she develops and tests solutions to make health care more inclusive and more effective. Much of Tara’s research has evaluated how primary care reforms have impacted quality of care. She also leads research to directly improve quality of care including initiatives to measure and reduce care disparities, engage patients in health service improvement, and support physicians to learn from data. In 2022, Tara launched OurCare—a national initiative that engaged nearly 10,000 people across Canada over 16 months to co-create a blueprint for a stronger and more equitable primary care system. She is also the creator and host of Primary Focus, a new podcast that shares stories and innovations from Canada and around the world to inspire a stronger primary care system. Tara holds the Fidani Chair of Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto. She practices family medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto where she is also a Scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. She is the Vice Chair for Quality and Innovation in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, a Senior Adjunct Scientist at ICES and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. You can learn more about her research at https://maphealth.ca/kiran/ Sandy Epp is a Patient Engagement Advisor in Manitoba and Project Analyst (Quality Assurance) in the healthcare space. Sandy is also a mother of two young adults and the daughter of two aging parents. Over the past 5 years she has been tasked with helping her loved ones find care for a host of serious issues relating to mental and physical health, and found the struggle to get them timely and adequate care nearly overwhelming. Sandy decided to become a Patient Advisor to provide her loved ones with a voice in the care they received, in the hopes that changes could be made to our healthcare system for all Manitobans. The first phase of OurCare launched in the Fall of 2022 with a survey of 9000 people. The second phase included priority panels with ~35 members of the public in five provinces. They gathered to learn about primary care and deliberated with each other about shared values that should underlie the system, important issues, and recommendations. Participants wrote their own reports and presented these to key stakeholders. The third phase included 10 community round tables, two in each of five provinces, in partnership with community organizations who had established relationships with members of marginalized communities—for example, members of Indigenous communities, Black communities, newcomer groups, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities. To find out more, visit: https://www.ourcare.ca/ ICES research you heard about: https://www.ices.on.ca/publications/journal-articles/family-physicians-in-focused-practice-in-ontario-canada/
EPISODE CREDITS:Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up PodcastingArtwork designed by Stella-Luna HaMusic licensed through Melodie MusicLINKS:Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca
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