Health Minister Deb Matthews, far right, and Dr. Barry Rubin, left, congratulate Dr. Leanne Casaubon on the award-winning TAMS unit at the Innovation Fund Showcase. (Photo: MOHLTC)
Last week, the Innovation Fund Showcase 2013 took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The event highlighted projects funded by the Academic Health Science Centre Alternative Funding Plan Innovation Fund.
This fund is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ontario Medical Association. It’s the result of the Academic Health Science Centre Alternate Funding Plan (AHSC AFP) that now includes more than 5,000 physicians working in 17 of Ontario’s AHSCs.
UHN’s Dr. Barry Rubin has been part of this process since its inception and was a speaker at the event.
UHN’s TAMS Unit project was awarded the Best New Approach for Cardiovascular and Stroke Care, chosen from all of the top AFP Innovation Fund projects in this section in the province for the 2011-2013 award cycle.
The award was presented to Dr. Leanne Casaubon by Minister Deb Matthews, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long Term Care.
Casaubon led the TAMS unit project which opened at Toronto Western Hospital in 2011.
The Innovation Fund provides approximately $10 million per year to support pilot projects that evaluate new approaches to deliver better medical care to Ontario.
The process is accessible to all academic physicians participating in an AHSC AFP. Criteria for the selection of Showcase participants:
- Transformation: How will each project transform health care delivery?
- Adoptability: Can the project be adopted by other centres to improve outcomes?
- Multi-site: Does the project include other sites, other GOs or other partners?
- Outcome: Will the results obtained convince other institutions to adopt the new approach?
“The Innovation Fund leverages the immense knowledge and creativity of Ontario’s academic health physicians to create more effective and efficient methods of health care delivery in this province” said Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. “Congratulations to all of the UHN researchers whose projects have been supported through this initiative since its inception. Ontario’s patients have truly benefitted from your commitment to improving their care.”
UHN physicians led 11 of the 80 projects accepted to the Innovation Fund Showcase 2013. They were:
Dr. Marcus Bernardini (PI)
A prospective study evaluating surgical and quality of life outcomes after robotic surgery, laparoscopy, and laparotomy in the management of uterine and cervical cancer
Dr. Anna Sawka (PI)
Decision aid for adjuvant radioactive iodine treatment in the early stage papillary thyroid cancer
Dr. Shabbir Alibhai (PI)
Exercise during induction chemotherapy to improve health and treatment tolerability of patients with acute myeloid leukemia’ a randomized phase 2 study
Dr. E. You-Ten (PI)
Non-cardiac Surgery – Role of non-invasive computer tomography coronary angiogram using the novel 320-row multi-detector computer tomography
Dr. George Djaiani (PI)
Reducing delirium after trans-apical Aortic Valve Replacement: A Multifaceted Approach of perioperative care
Dr. Leanne Casaubon (PI)
A novel high-risk TIA/minor stroke rapid assessment unit to improve quality of care and patient outcomes
Dr. Maxim Melady (PI)
An innovative curriculum in geriatric emergency medicine (GEM): Development assessment and dissemination
Dr. Massimiliano Meineri (PI)
Virtual TTE: An interactive online teaching aid for learning transthoracic echocardiography
Dr. Raj Rampersaud (PI)
Orthopedic surgical AdVerse Event Severity (Ortho-SAVES) System: Identifying opportunities for improving patient safety and resource utilization.
Dr. Marcin Wasowicz (PI)
The use of VOLATILE anesthesia after cardiac surgery: a comparison with a standard intravenous anesthesia.
Dr. Robert Wu (PI)
Checklists on medicine, a patient safety study (COMPASS): The development and evaluation of a daily inter-professional checklist to improve the care of hospitalized general medicine patients
