Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region, Qikiqtaaluk Region
Tags: health, health care evaluation, economics
| Principal Investigator: | Young, Barbara M (1) |
| Licence Number: | 15074 |
| Organization: | Stanton Territorial Hospital |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2012
|
| Issued: | May 31, 2012 |
| Project Team: | Dr. Amy Hendricks |
Objective(s): To determine the potential cost savings and health-related quality of life benefits of implementing point-of-care international normalized ratio testing in remote communities in the NWT and Kitikmeot region.
Project Description: To determine the potential cost savings and health-related quality of life benefits of implementing point-of-care (POC) international normalized ratio (INR) testing in remote communities in the NWT and Kitikmeot region. Canada’s Non-Insured Health Benefits Program drug prescription database will be used to determine the number of individuals receiving warfarin in each of the remote regions in the study area. The Canadian Agency for Technologies and Drugs in Health (CADTH) framework for economic analysis will then be used to compare the status quo with implementation of nurse-directed INR testing using POC technology in the study area. Potential improvements in health-related outcomes will be calculated in two ways. First, existing data related to the health-outcomes benefit of POC testing will be used to estimate the safety benefit for clients already receiving warfarin in the study area. Second, as there is no searchable medical database in the large geographic territory of the study area, case-finding will be undertaken via key informant interviews with primary care providers to estimate a minimum number of clients who would become candidates for anticoagulation with the improved access to care delivered by POC testing. This is a small clinical quality improvement project aimed at improving health delivery to isolated communities. Potential benefits ultimately include decreased healthcare expenditures and increased health-related quality of life for individuals affected by the issue under study. Results of the study will be communicated to Cheryl Case, lab manager at the Stanton Territorial Hospital and to the Regional Lab Directors group. Study results will also be transmitted to all key informants/primary care givers who participated in the study. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 31, 2012 to December 31, 2012.
