Past Research |
Pandemic Primary Care: How do we get care to those who need it?
Team members: Dr. Fred Burge (PI), Dr. Anders Lenskjold (Co-PI), Dr. Emily Marshall, Sarah Sabri, Dr. Mathew Grandy, Dr. Joanna Zed, Erin Christian, Matt Holland, Juanna Ricketts
We are analyzing EMR data collected before and during the pandemic from MaRNet-FP participants to understand patient visit patterns and how they’ve changed over the last year. Not only will we use standard statistical descriptions, but we are excited, that for the first time, we will be using machine learning to identify characteristics of patients at risk who were not previously meeting this categorization. The results will shed light on the type of patients seen in-person or virtually and those who were not seen by their primary care provider. The overarching goal of this study is to deliver the best possible care to at-risk patients in Nova Scotia. The results of the study are expected to be published in the spring of 2021. |
Testing, and Overtesting: Using MaRNet-FP data to help
Team members: Dr. Fred Burge, Dr. Anders Lenskjold, Dr. Samina Abidi, Dr. Raza Abidi, Dr. Mathew Grandy.
Diagnostic overtesting is not always beneficial for patients or providers. For patients, there is the potential to do more harm by labelling and overtreating them with further unnecessary health services. For the provider, possible overuse of health services may reduce availability for other patients. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) testing is among “Choosing Wisely Canada’s” list of “Thirteen Things Physicians and Patients Should Question”. For his master’s thesis study, Dr. Anders Lenskjold will use MaRNet-FP data to explore the extent of TSH testing, its possible overuse, and the consequences in Nova Scotia for patients and primary care providers. |
Heart Failure Case Definitions
Team members: Dr. Mathew Grandy, Dr. Fred Burge, Neala Gill, Sarah Sabri, Dr. Michael Fleming
Team collaborators: Joanne Lamb, Kathy Harrigan, Dr. Brian Clarke, Lena MacDonald, Dylana Arsenault, Natalie Nichols, Dr. Kim Anderson This study was carried out by MaRNet-FP in partnership with Cardiovascular Health Nova Scotia. The objective of this study was to develop a validated case definition to identify patients with heart failure using primary care EMR data that can subsequently be used for monitoring key indicators of heart failure (HF) care. An interdisciplinary team of domain experts including family physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and a cardiologist came together to develop an HF case definition. We were able to validate the developed HF case definition among 600 random patients over 40 years old in Nova Scotia. The results revealed sensitivity of 68.18% and specificity of 96.30% for our HF case definition. |
Frailty
Team members: Dr. Olga Theou (Co-PI), Dr. Barry Clarke (Co-PI), Susan Savage (Co-I), Dr. Melissa Andrew (Co-I), Dr. Fred Burge (Co-I), Melissa Buckler (Co-I), Dr. Valerie Lewis (Co-I), Dr. Emily Marshall (Co-I), Dr. Kenneth Rockwood (Co-I), Dr. Grace Warner (Co-I), Dr. Mary Gorman (Co-I), Dr. Elaine Moody (Co-I), Dr. Grace Park (Co-I), Dr. Xiaowei Song (Co-I), Dr. Jaymi Cormier, Beverley Lawson, Lynn Edwards, Lisa Bedford, Ron Swan, Dr. Olive Bryanton
Dr. Sabrina Wong from the University of British Columbia led this project. The aim of this research was to create and validate a case definition of frailty using primary care EMR data. Locally we recruited practices to help validate this case definition by applying the Rockwood clinical frailty scale to a number of their patients. Once the initial validation work was completed, we utilized machine learning to help hone the definition in the hopes that we would be able to translate this finding into a tool that allows for better identification of frail patients for early intervention and health service planning. The project has been submitted for publication and should be published later this year. |