Ottawa invests $1.5 million in POET project

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Work is now underway to expand William Osler Health System’s innovative Prevention of Error-Based Transfers (PoET) project to long-term care facilities in the Mississauga-Halton and Hamilton-Niagara regions, thanks to a recent $1.5 million investment from Health Canada’s Health Care Policy Contribution Program.

The funds will help develop the PoET Southwest Spread Project – a joint venture with McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine – that will see PoET expanded to the regions’ Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) over a three-year period.

PoET is an initiative that helps to prevent unnecessary or unwanted transitions between long-term care homes and hospitals. It is based on an ethical obligation to provide treatment that long-term care residents in end-of-life care want and can benefit from.

During PoET’s operation to date, there has been a 59 percent reduction in repeated end-of-life transitions for long-term care residents between care settings in the Central West LHIN. The PoET Project has been supported by Health Quality Ontario’s IDEAS (Improving & Driving Excellence Across Sectors) Advanced Learning Program; the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, powered by Baycrest; and also produced the Accreditation Canada Leading Practice Individualized Summary.

“PoET promotes high-quality, end-of-life care, reduces unwanted and non-beneficial transfers to emergency departments, and brings residents’ voices to the forefront of decision-making,” said Tiziana Rivera (pictured), chief nursing executive and associate vice president, quality at William Osler Health System. “Thanks to Health Canada’s investment, we will now be able to expand this high-impact project beyond the community that Osler currently serves.”

PoET was co-designed by Osler’s Dr. Jill Oliver, health care ethicist, and Dr. Paula Chidwick, director, clinical & corporate ethics, who worked in partnership with local long-term care homes to ensure the initiative met the needs of patients.

“PoET grew from our belief that an upstream approach to preventing consent-related errors could benefit long-term care residents,” said Dr. Chidwick. “We found that understanding what is important to residents can lead to fewer errors and fewer transfers for unwanted and unnecessary treatment.”

The PoET South West Spread Project will also include an evaluation of the work led by McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine. It is anticipated that the potential cost-savings to the broader health system could reach as high as $100 million, if implemented.

“We all deserve to live out our lives in comfort and dignity, with care that is appropriate to our wishes and values. I am pleased to support this innovative project that will help improve end-of-life care in Ontario,” said Federal Minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor.