INITIATIVES

The Capacity Building and Knowledge Exchange Working Group has been establishing a comprehensive communication strategy that includes organizing and hosting provincial meetings, supporting provincial information sharing and developing a webinar series, and supporting an online presence. This includes the launch of the Secretariat website that will provide paramedic services and health system partners with information resources to help facilitate building bridges of integration between health system partners.

The Policy and Practice Working Group helped to develop the OCPS Annual Review Survey that will inform their work to provide guidance on implementation including education and best practices. The working group has spent considerable time reviewing the 2017 MOH Community Paramedicine Framework for Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. Their efforts will provide practical guidance that reflects changes to community paramedicine program delivery that have emerged over the past few years. On-going work of this working group will include examining delegation of medical acts in community paramedicine programs, determining education and training requirements, and exploring funding criteria.

The Performance Measurement and Reporting Working Group has also utilized the findings of the annual review to inform their work around developing a minimum data set (MDS) that could be collected by all Ontario community paramedicine programs and better inform patient documentation standards to reflect the changing landscape of community paramedicine practice. Implementing a new reporting framework will inform both community paramedic practice by standardizing the way that patient information is collected and community paramedicine program evaluation by having a consistent method for reporting. The working group will consult with paramedic services and health technology partners to ensure that uptake of the MDS occurs for fiscal year 2020-21.