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Take a look at Frank’s story…
Frank is a 74 year old retired high school principal who lives with his wife and their golden retriever in Smalltown, Ontario. One evening had the sensation of his heart racing and Frank and his wife decided to go to the ER . During his visit, an electrocardiogram showed that he was in atrial fibrillation with a heart rate of 80-105 bpm. Other than being “more tired than usual” he hadn’t felt any other symptoms. He didn’t have chest pain or dizziness or any difficulty breathing. At that time his hypertension seemed to be under reasonable control on 3 medications. The ER doc gave him an extra dose of his metoprolol 25mg to slow his heart rate a bit and his rhythm reverted back to normal. (Read more…) With our new model of care, Frank leaves his ED visit with an appointment booked for the following week at the AFQCP clinic. In addition to the appointment time, Frank is given an envelope that includes information about AF and treatment options. The care team receives the referral, and pulls any recent labs/tests from the ED visit or previous admission in preparation for Frank’s visit. When Frank arrives for his appointment 5 days days after his ED visit, a care provider meets him in the clinic and explains the goals of the visit. (Read...
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Why renovate?
We know that, despite our best efforts as clinicians, patients with AFIB are not all receiving optimal, guideline-base care. Read about what we learned from a clinicians across the province regarding the challenges in managing AFIB patients in our white paper and take a look at Frank’s story. Under the AFIB Innovation program we created a new model of care that aimed to bridge the gaps in the currently fragmented system of AFIB care in Ontario, and place the patient at its core. At the heart of the new model is the Atrial Fibrillation Quality Care Program (AFQCP). The AFQCP team includes an interdisciplinary care team led by a nurse practitioner and pharmacist, supported by a physician and fostered by partnerships to specialty care. The philosophy of the AFQCP is to provide: Timely access from the ED to the first clinic visit – patients are given an appointment before they leave the ED Education about AFIB and its management, tailored to the needs of the patient Facilitation of access to necessary investigations or specialty care Comprehensive management of AFIB as well as other comorbidities that impact AFIB Seamless transition to the community care provider via clear, one-page guideline-based care plans within 24-48h of the visit Acute access to a clinician when needed via a 1-800 hotline ...
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"...the staff at the Afib clinic, they don't treat me like a patient, they treat me like a person"
Patient, AFQCP
