RISE contributes to Ministry of Health & Ministry of Long-Term Care Research Summit to support learning and improvement in Ontario

In partnership with the Ministry of Health’s Research Analysis and Evaluation Branch (RAEB), RISE co-leads John Lavis (McMaster Health Forum) and Rob Reid (Trillium Health Partners), alongside patient partner Maureen Smith, supported both parts of the Ministry of Health & Ministry of Long-Term Care’s Research summit on 15 May. The session was opened by the Deputy Minister of Health and brought together directors from across both ministries to collectively identify how they can improve their use of the best-available research evidence to inform policy and program decision-making in the context of a learning health system. The first session provided an overview of what is needed in Ontario to enable learning and improvement processes and evidence-informed policymaking with timely, demand-driven evidence support, and the second session consisted of breakout groups that collectively identified opportunities – both inside and outside of government – to improve how evidence supports are leveraged to inform decision-making. The successful event will serve as a key jumping off point for strengthening Ontario’s evidence-support system, which will help to ensure decision-making related to OHTs and their acceleration priorities such as implementing mixes of integrated clinical pathways based on different levels of patient need, continue to be informed by best evidence.