Dear Doctor Project
Principal Investigator: Lise M. Bjerre; Co-Investigators: Donald Mattison, Margaret Watson, Carlos Rojas-Fernandez, Tania Fahey
Project Description: The “Dear Doctor” project encompasses a number of studies aiming to critically assess the format, content, evidence-base, appropriateness and clinical impact of Health Advisory Letters across three jurisdictions (Canada, USA, UK).
Deprescribing Guidelines in the Elderly
Principal Investigators: Barbara Farrell and Jamie Conklin; Co-investigators: Carlos Rojas Fernandez, Kevin Pottie, Lisa McCarthy, Lalitha Raman-Wilms, Lise M. Bjerre
Funded by: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care via the Ontario Pharmacy Research Collaboration (OPEN) ($434878)
Project Description: This project involves developing, implementing and evaluating three “deprescribing” guidelines for the following medications: 1. proton pump inhibitors, 2. benzodiazepines and 3. antipsychotics).These guidelines will support interdisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals in tapering or stopping medications and monitoring for adverse drug withdrawal reactions in elderly patients. For more information, please visit: http://www.open-pharmacy-research.ca/research-projects/emerging-services/deprescribing-guidelines
Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing in Ontario’s Elderly Population: The PIP-STOPP Study
Principal Investigator: Lise M. Bjerre; Co-investigators: Timothy Ramsay, Catriona Cahir, Cristin Ryan, Roland Halil, Barbara Farrell, Kednapa Thavorn, Steven Hawken, Ulrika Gillespie, Douglas Manuel
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research ($192,450)
Project Description: The overall objective of the study will be to describe the occurrence of Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing (PIP) in Ontario’s elderly (>65 years) population, assess the health and economic burden associated with it, and evaluate interventions aimed at mitigating its effects using Ontario health administrative data housed at the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES).
Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing in Long-Term Care: The PIP in LTC Study
Principal Investigator: Lise M. Bjerre; Co-investigators: Roland Halil, Barbara Farrell, Cristin Ryan, Douglas Manuel
Funded by: Ministry of Health and Long-Term care via Centres for Learning Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI) ($119,378)
Project Description: The overall aim of this study is to validate medication appropriateness criteria (STOPP-START criteria); 2012 Beers criteria) applicable to health administrative data by comparing their performance when applied to clinical data of Long-Term Care residents.
The Drug Safety and Effectiveness Cross-Disciplinary Training (DSECT) Program
Principal Investigator: S Bernatsky, J Beyene, S Cadarette, B Carleton, L Dolovich; Co-Investigators: Abrahamowicz, M; Agarwal, G; Alsabbagh, W; Beazely, M; Bjerre, LM; Brown, E; Farrell, B; Gagnon, M-A; Gamble, J-M; Ho, C; Holbrook, A; Kaczorowski, J;
Kowalec, K; Mangin, D; Oremus, Mark; Papaioannou, A; Platt, R; Raina, P; Rieder, M; Sketris, I; Slavcev, R; Tarride, J-E; Thavorn, K; Tricco, A; Dormuth, C; Kim, R; Levine, M; Straus, S; Thabane, L
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN) Training Grant ($1,373,522)
Project Description: This training program bridges clinical therapeutics, active surveillance, administrative datasets, research methods, health services and policy, pharmaceutical policy, meta-analysis, and knowledge translation to better understand choosing, using, and losing medications within the context of medication safety and effectiveness. For more information, please visit:http://www.safeandeffectiverx.com/
Pharmacoeconomics Unit of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network
Principal Investigator: Doug Coyle
Funded by: Ministry of Health and Long-Term
Project Description: To assist the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care with Formulary Modernization.
The future of HTA: Changing paradigms
Principle Investigator: Don Husereau; Co-Investigators: Chris Henshall, Laura Sampietro-Colom
Funded by: HTAi
Project Description: HTA “has an important role to play in helping improve evidence production”. However in doing so, the HTA paradigm needs to be more agile and adaptive and to move beyond simply providing information to support one-off decisions and play a more active role in aligning stakeholder perspectives and activities across the product lifecycle and helping the health care system understand the potential of innovations and how practice may need to change to ensure that their potential value is realized.
What is innovation in healthcare?
Principle Investigator: Colin Busby; Co- Investigators: Ake Blomqvist, Don Husereau
Funded by: CD Howe Institute
Project Description: There is much talk about the need for innovation in healthcare. The recent “Naylor” report makes reccomendations about how Canada’s healthcare system can be more responsive to innovation. This project will reflect on these recommendations and provide additional options for consideration for policymaking.
Supporting Goal-Oriented Primary Health Care for Seniors with Complex Care Needs using Mobile Technology; Evaluation and implementation of the HSPRN-Bridgepoint ePRO Tool
Principal Investigator: Steele Gray, C; Upshur, R; Wodchis, W Co-investigators: Cott, C; Fairclough, L; Heydon, A; Kuluski, K; McKinstry, B; Mercer, S; Palen, T; Ramsay, T; Thavorn, K
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Operating Grant: eHealth Innovation Partnership Program (eHIPP)-Seniors with Complex Care Needs ($749,035)
Project Description: This multi-centre trial evaluates the use, effectiveness, and value for money of the Electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) mobile application and portal tool in individuals 65 or over with two or more chronic conditions that require many health care visits to manage their health conditions in Ontario.
Exploring frailty and its role in the assessment of high risk medications and risk for poor health outcomes in vulnerable populations
Principal Investigator: Maxwell, Colleen J; Bronskill, Susan E; Co-investigators: Austin, P; Gill, S; Gruneir, A; Hogan, D; Patten, S; Seitz, D; Teare, G; Thavorn, K; Wodchis, W
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Operating Grant ($330,803)
Project Description: This project utilizes linked the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and administrative health databases for home care and long term care settings in Ontario and Saskatchewan to assess how well our frailty measures and medication quality indicators are able to predict those most at risk for sub-optimal medication use and poor outcomes; and, conduct an expert panel review to build consensus on key measures to monitor quality of drug use in continuing care.
Framing-LTC: Frailty and Recognizing Appropriate Medications in Geriatrics and Long-term Care
Principal Investigator: C Bell, S Bronskill, L Jeffs, C Maxwell, A Morris; Co-investigators: Amuah, J; Danema, N; Gill, S; Grunier, A; Hogan, D; Hyland, S; Law, M; Loeb, M; Mitchell, J; Moore, K; Patten, S; Powis, J; Ricciuto, D; Seitz, D; Sinha, S; Teare, G;
Thavorn, K; Wodchis, W
Funded by: Technology Evaluation in Elderly Network Strategic Impact Grants ($596,906)
Project Description: This project use quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand various factors that contribute to the prescribing of potentially inappropriate medication and associated poor health outcomes among frail residents across long-term care settings.