Supported Research Initiatives
Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN)
Canada’s first multi-disease electronic record surveillance system
The successful working relationship between the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) resulted in the development and advancement of the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN).
Together, the collaboration created three consecutive Contribution Agreements with the project titled, “Enhanced Surveillance for Chronic Disease Program.” The project’s success is also due to in-kind support from the regional networks and partner universities as well as the CFPC.
The CPCSSN continues to expand its reach to provide increased capacity in the following areas:
- A collection of primary care practice electronic Medical Record (EMR) based patient health information
- Research and knowledge development
- Point-of-care practice transformation
Contact:
Richard Birtwhistle, MD, MSc, FCFP Director
Centre for Studies in Primary Care Department of Family Medicine
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario
Phone: (613) 533-9303 ext. 73934
Canadian Physician Database (CPDB)
The Canadian Physician Database (CPDB) is a joint initiative of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).
The CPDB will provide information about the physician workforce across Canada and physician-related activities such as numbers of hours worked and use of EMR, among others. This information is important to inform future workforce development and support.
The CPDB replaces the National Physician Survey (NPS) and builds on the long-standing NPS partnership.
The Royal College, CMA and CFPC are partnering with the Canadian Medical Regulatory Authorities (MRAs), such as the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC), the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). Over the past two years, the three partners working with four MRAs undertook a feasibility study to test and guide the creation of a new pan-Canadian physician workforce data resource. This included ensuring adherence to strict privacy and data exchange requirements and policies. The CPDB will reduce duplication so that physicians are not burdened with repeat requests by different entities for the same information (such as settings of care physicians work in, hours worked, and EMR use). It will also provide more reliable data; the response rate to the NPS for example had dropped considerably in recent years.
The final report of the CPDB Feasibility Study
While many information gaps still exist, The Royal College, the CMA, and the CFPC anticipate that over time many data gaps will be addressed. The goal is to have all MRAs eventually join the CPDB to contribute to the rich dataset it will generate.
