CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) today launched an expanded version of its FOCUS on Healthcare website that includes the three areas of continuing care in Alberta: long term care, designated supportive living, and home care.

Developed using input from the continuing care stakeholder community, including citizen advisors, the information on the website reflects the experiences of residents, family members and clients with healthcare services in long term care, designated supportive living, and home care.

“Adding continuing care—long term care, designated supportive living, and home care—to the FOCUS on Healthcare website brings Alberta’s healthcare system more fully into view so that we can have a big-picture perspective of our health system,” says Andrew Neuner, Chief Executive Officer, HQCA. “What is happening in continuing care can impact residents’, clients’, and their loved ones’ experiences in other areas of the healthcare system, like emergency department and family doctor care. FOCUS on Healthcare provides the opportunity to look at all of these areas together so that providers, decision-makers, and the public have access to the same data and can have informed conversations about improving Alberta’s healthcare system.”

From survey results about residents’ experiences with food, to reporting data about things like the percentage of residents who were placed in their most preferred living option, the website reports a variety of information via 68 charts, in many cases allowing for comparisons across multiple years, between Alberta Health Services Zones, or among more than 173 sites.

This FOCUS on Healthcare expansion includes:

• 25 interactive charts showing family experience survey results and other information related to the quality of healthcare services in long term care
• 28 interactive charts showing family and resident survey results and other information related to the quality of healthcare services in designated supportive living
• 15 interactive charts showing client experiences (seniors) with home care services

Examples of the information reported:

• Percentage of long term care residents whose pain worsened between assessments, showing provincial and Alberta Health Services zone results over time.
• Percentage of long term care and designated supportive living residents who were placed into their site within 30 days of assessment, showing provincial and zone results over time, with the ability to look at both quarterly and yearly data.
• How family members of designated supportive living residents rated how often they were involved in making decisions about their loved one’s care, showing provincial and zone results and the ability to compare up to 146 sites, rural/urban setting, operator type, and number of spaces.
• How home care clients (seniors) rated whether their care plan included the things they needed, showing provincial and zone results, and comparisons between metro/urban/rural.

“Continuing care is one of the most complex areas of Alberta’s healthcare system, serving a diverse range of needs and populations,” says Ian Woodcock, Chair, Alberta Continuing Care Association. “It is a sector facing increasing pressures due to a variety of factors including anticipated growth of Alberta’s seniors and persons living with dementia. This tool brings together information in one place on topics important to the many organizations and individuals who are working to improve quality of care, and we appreciate that it is shared in the context of the broader healthcare system.”

“The Health Quality Council of Alberta’s FOCUS on Healthcare website provides transparency to health system reporting,” says Dr. Trevor Theman, Chair, HQCA Board of Directors. “We believe in the power of information – that Albertans benefit most when everyone, from the boardroom to bedside, has access to the same information about their healthcare system at the same time.”

FOCUS on Healthcare currently reports information about healthcare services in Alberta related to:

• emergency departments
• primary care
• long term care
• designated supportive living
• home care

The HQCA will continue to expand this website over the coming years as part of its legislated mandate to measure and monitor Alberta’s healthcare system.

The HQCA is a provincial agency that pursues opportunities to improve patient safety and health service quality for Albertans. 

For more information and to book an interview:

Lisa Brake, Director, Communications & Engagement
Office: 403.297.4091 Cell: 403.875.0359
Lisa.Brake@hqca.ca