Research grants spark Hamilton’s academic doctors

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BY Thana Dharmarajah

December 19, 2012

A research program that’s part of the provincial funding plan for academic physicians in Hamilton is spurring on discovery at McMaster and partner hospitals Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

Some initiatives supported by this program include:

  • A study finding high patient satisfaction in a nurse-led clinic on inflammatory bowel disease;
  • The establishment of a Canadian pain centre which has created national guidelines for safe and effective use of opioids, now used by health practitioners across Canada;
  •  A study of interprofessional collaboration which makes the pharmacist the key manager for patients on long-term blood thinner medication;
  • Findings of reduced heart attack or heart failure risks after orthopedic surgery if patients are screened for cardiac complication risks during hospitalization, prior to the operation.

The Innovation Grant program funds, which total about $1.4 million a year in Hamilton, were intended to support developing new health care delivery practices and leadership in the communication of knowledge across the healthcare system. The individual study grants range from $100,000 to $200,000 over one to two years.

The funds are from the Academic Health Science Alternate Funding Plan, provided by an agreement between the Ontario Medical Association and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to recruit and retain physicians who are professors at McMaster, and also provide care at Hamilton Health Sciences or St. Joseph’s Healthcare.

“The Ministry of Health, in providing support for physicians who choose to remain in an academic environment, recognized that these same physicians could be the source of much needed expertise in improving the process of delivery of care,” says Dr. Peter Dent, chair of the board of the Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization. “The Innovation Funds provide the incentive to physicians who are interested in effecting change in the health care system.”

“We are very pleased to receive this funding,” says Dr. Salim Yusuf, vice president research, Hamilton Health Sciences and professor of Medicine at McMaster. “It will allow our researchers, scientists and physicians to further explore how we can provide care that is based on learning through excellent research.”