On Tuesday September 19 at 8:30 PM (EST) join Healthcare Management Forum author Emily G. Marshall, PhD for a discussion on wait times for specialist care identified by primary care providers.
We have partnered with the healthcare leader community #HCLDR, to deliver this tweetchat inspired by the September edition of Healthcare Management Forum focused on primary care, the foundation of our healthcare system. Emily's biography, article abstract and additional information about the tweetchat can be found below.
Author: Emily G. Marshall, PhD
Emily Gard Marshall, PhD, is a Professor in the Dalhousie Department of Family Medicine, cross appointed with Community Health and Epidemiology, Psychiatry, and McGill Family Medicine, as well as a Nova Scotia Health Affiliated Scientist. She is also Director of the BRIC-NS Strategy for Patient Oriented Primary Care Network. Her collaborative mixed methods research examines primary healthcare from patient, provider, and system perspectives to address the quintuple aim. Foci include access, continuity, and comprehensiveness to improve equity and optimize outcomes across the life course, involving population data, provider perspectives, and equity-deserving populations. She leads multiple pan-Canadian studies including the CIHR funded PUPPY-Study. Dr. Marshall is the 2020 recipient of the NAPCRG Mid-Career Researcher Award. She is also an avid artist. For more information, see www.emilygardmarshall.ca
Article: Challenges and impacts from wait times for specialist care identified by primary care providers: Results from the MAAP study cross-sectional survey
In Canada, primary care providers are the front door to other services in the health system, such as specialist care. Compared to other countries, Canadians experience long wait times for specialist referrals and appointments leading to poorer health outcomes for patients. Although there is attention paid to the impacts of these waits on patients, little is known about how long specialist care wait times impact primary care providers. As part of a larger study surveying primary care clinics in Nova Scotia, primary care providers were invited to participate in a follow-up survey on comprehensive care and specialist wait times. We thematically analyzed responses to an open text field about specialist wait times. Respondents shared their experiences with challenging specialist wait times, strategies to manage patients waiting for specialist care, and recommendations for improving access to specialist care in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Tweetchat Logistics
Hashtag
Hosts
Healthcare Leadership Blog - @hcldr
Colin Hung - @Colin_Hung
Joseph Babaian - @JoeBabaian
Canadian College of Health Leaders - @CCHL_CCLS
Moderators
Colin Hung - @Colin_Hung and Joseph Babaian - @JoeBabaian
Guests
Forum Author, Emily G. Marshall, PhD - @DrEmilyMarshall / Professor in the Dalhousie Department of Family Medicine @DalhousieU
Tweetchat topics (questions)
Challenges and impacts from wait times for specialist care identified by primary care providers
- Long wait times for referrals to specialists from primary care providers is a barrier to healthcare access. How has this affected the quality of care in your province or state?
- Research suggests that changing the referral processes will improve access. What changes and improvements to the referral process would you like to see?
- What role can technology play in facilitating specialist referrals?
- What else can health leaders do in their environments to promote health equity?
Recommended reading
Challenges and impacts from wait times for specialist care identified by primary care providers: Results from the MAAP study cross-sectional survey (open access) – Emily G. Marshall, PhD
Healthcare Management Forum - September 2023 – Primary care, the foundation of our healthcare system
#HCLDR Blog Post Challenges and impacts from wait times for specialist care identified by primary care providers: Results from the MAAP study cross-sectional survey (available soon) – Emily G. Marshall, PhD
Emily Gard Marshall, PhD, MSc, BA - https://www.emilygardmarshall.ca
PUPPY Study - @PUPPY_Study
Problems Coordinating and Accessing Primary Care for Attached and Unattached Patients in a Pandemic Year
MAAP Studies - The MAAP studies address knowledge gaps on how primary care practices are structured, what accessibility and comprehensiveness are like for patients, and the impact on patient care outcomes. These findings are necessary for evidence-based policy development and evaluation.
MAAP research began in Nova Scotia under the leadership of Prof. Emily Gard Marshall; and now has data from NS, PEI, NL, and BC
MAAP – NS, PEI, NL, BC: Models and Access Atlas of Primary Care Study
MAPP - BC: Models and Access Atlas of Primary Care Study
Participation instructions
The #HCLDR community is international with the largest participants from the US and Canada.
Preparation
- Review the topics and recommended reading above.
- Open a Twitter account.
- Be on-line and logged in at 8:30 pm EST (for your local time click here).
- If you have the opportunity, observing an #HCLDR tweetchat ahead of time would be beneficial (they take place every Tuesday at 8:30 pm ET, details can be found on the Healthcare Leadership Blog).
Participation
- The tweetchat starts with greetings between the moderators (@Colin_Hung and @JoeBabaian) and the #HCLDR community.
- The topics will be introduced throughout the tweetchat in graphical and text format by the @hcldr account.
- Include #HCLDR (#hcldr works as well), and when applicable the topic # (T1 for example).
- Twitter instructions:
- Log into twitter.com.
- In the top right search bar type "#HCLDR" or click on this link.
- By default the "Top" tweets" will show, to see all tweets click on "Latest" - or click here.
- You may want to open a few tabs - one for seeing the latest activity, and one or more for your activity (tweeting, retweeting, responding) - in addition if there is a particular person you would like to follow you can open a new tab with their profile, for example @DrEmilyMarshall (click through "Tweets and Replies" to see all their activity).
- If you see a number under the tweet’s “Speech/reply bubble” you can click on the actual tweet to expand the conversation. To respond click the “Speech/reply bubble” under the main tweet or another tweet in the conversation (don’t forget to add #HCLDR).
- To retweet, click on the “Retweet” icon (2 arrows in a square shape) then choose “Repost” or “Quote” if you want to add a comment.
- To start a new conversation, click on post, since you have searched on #HCLDR it should automatically add "HCLDR" to your post (see reminder below regarding topic #'s).
- Reminder: Topics will overlap so in addition to the #HCLDR hashtag, include the topic # (where applicable) if you are outside of a conversation–great for linking a resource to a topic.
- Tweetdeck instructions (now a paid service):
- Log into tweetdeck.com (uses Twitter's username/password).
- Click on the magnifying glass, type “#HCLDR” then press enter–this will open a column populated by #HCLDR content (you may want to open additional #HCLDR columns so you can have a monitoring one and a participating one).
- If you see a number under the tweet’s “Speech/reply bubble” you can click on the actual tweet to expand the conversation. To respond click the “Speech/reply bubble” under the main tweet or another tweet in the conversation (don’t forget to add #HCLDR).
- To retweet, click on the “Retweet” icon (2 arrows in a square shape) then choose “Retweet” or “Quote Tweet” if you want to add a comment.
- To start a new conversation, click on the “Tweet” button icon (upper left corner usually)–this is a good option when sharing resources.
- Reminder: Topics will overlap so in addition to the #HCLDR hashtag, include the topic # (where applicable) if you are outside of a conversation–great for linking a resource to a topic.
