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Tue, March 16, 2004
Doctor bridges health care gap
Local makes research work for patients
By HOLLY LAKE, Ottawa Sun
There is a gap between what research can do for patients and what the health care system actually delivers. Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw is hoping to bridge it. At the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, his goal is to ensure that patients get the best the health care system can offer.
"My research has been, how do we ensure patients get effective treatment and not treatments that may harm them," he said. "That's what drives me. That's where I think I can make an impact."
TOP AWARDS
Grimshaw brought his research to Ottawa from the U.K. almost three years ago. Now he's been awarded the knowledge translation award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research -- among the top awards for Canadian research.
He said multiple studies around the world have shown 30%-40% of patients don't get care that is known to be effective.
Studies have also shown 15%-20% of patients get care that might not be necessary and could even be harmful.
Standing in the way of effective treatment is the sheer amount of information available to health care professionals.
Thousands of medical journals are published each year, and most doctors have little time to devote to reading them.
"Even trying to keep up to date in your own area is difficult," Grimshaw said.
So part of his research deals with what's known as the Cochrane Collaboration, which is a worldwide organization of researchers developing a library of systematic reviews.
Canada has six review groups, two in Ottawa alone.
The group members collect all relevant studies and evidence about a medical question, summarize it and put it on a database for physicians and patients to access.
However, even when the most appropriate care is determined, health care professionals face other challenges.
CHALLENGES
Those challenges, and how to best address them, are the other focus of Grimshaw's research.
While health care workers are highly motivated, their environment is stressful and not conducive to reflective practice.
Time is a major barrier, as is not having the right equipment or staff skill mix.
Grimshaw said until these barriers are addressed, it doesn't matter how much research is done on treatment options.
"We won't get that to the patient unless we improve the quality aspect," he said.