Qualitycast North

Each year, the Institute of Healthcare Improvement holds its annual forum in December. Over 4 days, between 3 to 4 thousand healthcare quality improvers from across the world join together for a packed program of workshops, QI project reports, improvement science education and keynote lectures from renown speakers. This year, a large contingent of Canadians made the trip including some from Northern British Columbia so we decided to bring these Northern Physicians together for a fun panel discussion about their experiences and what they learned from this year’s forum. This is the recording of that discussion moderated by our regular Qualitycast North host Dr. Shyr Chui. We talk about our key takeaways, Dr. Anthony Fauci’s keynote, power networking and tips for first-time forum attendees.

Links:
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Dr. Kedar Mate and Dr. Thomas Lee Keynote

If you’re ever tempted to think medicine is practised the same everywhere in British Columbia, think again. Small rural communities present specific challenges to healthcare delivery due to their size and location, no more so than in the North where we also have long, snowy winters to contend with. That’s not to say that rural care can’t be high quality care. Providing valuable insights into rural family practice is today’s guest Dr. Ray Markham. This interview was so good we split it into two separate episodes. In this first part, Ray talks about his rural, generalist practice in Valemount, how to promote good teamwork and the unsung benefits of working in rural medicine. 

Links:
Partnership Pentagram
RCCbc

We’re returning to Northeast BC today and the subject might make some listeners squirm a little in their seats. We talk to Dr. Damian Fay, a rural GP and sexual health practitioner based in Hudson’s Hope about his QI work improving his vasectomy service. We talk about the challenges patients experience in accessing care in the North before the conversation takes a lighthearted turn towards the pros and cons of living and working in the north, craft beer and a novel way to get your triathlon track times down. 

We’ve showcased a lot of excellent physician-led quality improvement work on this podcast with its corresponding positive impact on patient care. But what is the effect of doing this work on the physicians themselves? Talking about the benefits of doing QI on her day-to-day work, life and career is today’s guest Dr. Daisy Dulay, a cardiologist based in Victoria, BC. In this episode we discuss career paths, purpose, rediscovering joy in our work and “slow medicine”.

Links:
Northern Health PQI
Spreading Quality Improvement | SSC

Recruitment and retention of front-line staff is a major challenge across healthcare systems globally right now, and no more so than in small, rural communities across Northern British Columbia. Today’s guest Dr. Kate Niethammer, a rural GP and obstetrician based in Smithers, BC, explains how she, using a QI approach and asking what mattered to them, was able to reverse nurse shortages and help re-establish full staffing levels in her unit. In this episode we talk about the benefits of living in the North and the universal power of pizza.

Links: 
Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Framework for Improving Joy in Work 
Northern Health PQI

With the current challenges faced by healthcare organizations around the world, maintaining staff morale and Joy in Work is a daunting task. The response of one medical imaging department in Northern British Columbia? Competitive baking! This week we interview James Cheesman, a Medical Radiation Technologist at The University Hospital of Northern British Columbia about “The Great X-Ray Bake Off”. With staff bakers competing for the Grandmaster Baker title and trophy, all other staff tasting and scoring the delicious entries and a resulting improvement in departmental morale and camaraderie, it’s a win-win solution for everyone.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our channel. If you have a question about healthcare quality improvement or feedback for us at Qualitycast North, email us at [email protected] and your question could feature on a future episode.

Links:
Northern Health Physician Quality Improvement Program
Cake by Numbers – The UHNBC Grandmaster Bake off

When improving or making changes to the way organizations provide health care, it often seems the last person consulted is the patient themselves. This seemingly perverse order of priority is a lingering throwback to a more historical and paternalistic model of care. One person looking to change this is today’s guest Kim Eggers, the Patient Partner Advisor for Northern Health’s Physician Quality Improvement program. In this episode we learn about Kim’s background, her motivation for patient advocacy and her vision for the co-creation of health care services.

Resources:

Patient Voices Network of British Columbia

Northern Health Physician Quality Improvement Program

We’re back for our fourth season with our new co-host, Lee Cameron. Our season opener is a cracker featuring special guest Ciro Panessa, the new CEO of Northern Health. In this episode we talk about Ciro’s journey to CEO, his first 9 months, and Northern Health’s priorities over the next 5 years. We also touch on life on the road and why ultimately, he’s grateful. 

Resource links: 

Northern Health 

Northern Health Physician Quality Improvement 

 “The First 90 Days” book by Michael D. Watkins

It’s our Season 3 finale and a special episode tinged with a little sadness as it’s our Producer and Co-host Deanna’s last episode with QCN. This week I turn the tables on Deanna and ask about her experiences on the show and to take us through her favourite interviews from our first three seasons. Which guests did she choose? You’ll have to listen to find out!


Qualitycast North will return in the Autumn with Season 4 and we’re planning a special QI clinic episode in which we answer listeners’ questions on healthcare quality improvement. Where are you struggling? What advice do you need? We want to hear from you so email us at [email protected] with your question.

According to Statistics Canada, Canada is currently experiencing a huge increase in unmet mental health needs. The prevalence of anxiety, depression and social phobia have jumped since the Covid pandemic. How can our health systems cope with this surge in demand for mental health services when the medical community itself is in crisis with physician shortages and burnout commonplace?

Well, there’s good news in British Columbia. A hugely successful, community-based, mental health service based on in-person and virtual group medical visits is spreading throughout the province. It’s called Mind Space and, in this episode, we interview one of it’s founders, Dr. Fiona Petigara, about its origins, how it operates and why it’s been so successful.

More information about Mind Space for interested patients and physicians can be found on their website at https://mind-space.ca and the BC Medical Journal at https://bcmj.org/shared-care/cbt-skills-spread-initiative-building-program-support-doctor-and-patient-mental-health