Alan Forster, MD, FRCPC, MSc

aforster@ohri.ca

Senior Scientist, Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa

Active Staff
Division General Internal Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital

Scientific Advisor
Clinical Information Systems, Quality and Safety Measurement

Cross Appointment
Department of Medicine, Department Epidemiology & Community Medicine, University of Ottawa

Adjunct Professor
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Patient Safety
• Health Services Research
• Thromboses, Embolisms
• Internal Medicine

APPOINTMENTS & Employment history

August 2007 - present	Associate Professor Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa
December 2006 – present	Cross Appointment Faculty of Graduate and Post-doctoral Studies (FGPS) University of Ottawa
January 2006 – present	Medical Director The Ottawa Hospital Center for Patient Safety
September 2004 -present	Scientific Advisor Clinical Information Systems, Quality and Safety Measurement The Ottawa Hospital
May 2004 - present	Cross Appointment Department of Medicine, Department Epidemiology & Community Medicine, University of Ottawa
May 2004 - present	Scientist Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
September 2001 – present	Active Staff Division General Internal Medicine, Ottawa Hospital

SHORT BIO

Dr. Alan J. Forster is a general internist and Co-Director of the Ottawa Hospital Center for Patient Safety. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and Scientist in the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, where his research focuses on patient safety and quality improvement.

He has been the recipient of several prestigious awards recognizing his work within the field of health services research, including a Career Scientist Award with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and an Early Research Award from the Ontario Government's Ministry of Research and Innovation.

He has performed seminal work evaluating the incidence of adverse events following discharge from hospital. This work has lead to the development of strategies to improve care during the transition home from hospital. He is also leading in the development of a hospital data warehouse, which will serve as a supporting infrastructure for a research program in patient safety and quality of care. He has over 35 publications in peer review journals. He has attracted close to $2 million dollars in extra-mural grant funding over the last five years to support his research program.

In addition to his significant contributions to a quality and safety program at the Ottawa Hospital, he provides ongoing scientific advice regarding quality of care to provincial and national organizations, such as the Ontario Health Quality Council and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Personal Awards and Salary Support

2006 Early Research Award
     Ministry of Research and Innovation, $150,000

2005 Career Scientist Award
     Ontario Ministry of Health
     Health Research Development Program, $300,000

2004 PSI Award
     Innovative Health Systems Research, $65,000

Most Recent Publications (provided by The Ottawa Hospital Library Database)

Forster AJ;Worthington JR;Hawken S;Bourke M;Rubens F;Shojania K;van WC;, (2011 Mar 1), Using prospective clinical surveillance to identify adverse events in hospital, Qual Saf Health Care, -> view abstract

Daneshvar P;Forster AJ;Dervin GF;, (2011 Jan 11), Accuracy of administrative coding in identifying hip and knee primary replacements and revisions, J Eval Clin Pract, -> view abstract

Ho ML;Lawrence N;van WC;Manuel D;Keely E;Malcolm J;Reid RD;Forster AJ;, (2011 Feb 17), The accuracy of using integrated electronic health care data to identify patients with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus, J Eval Clin Pract, -> view abstract

van Walraven,C;Bennett C;Forster AJ;, (2010 Sep 1), Derivation and Validation of a MEDLINE Search Strategy for Research Studies That Use Administrative Data, Health Serv Res , Vol.45, Issue 6 Pt. 1, 1836-1845 -> view abstract

van Walraven,C;Taljaard M;Etchells E;Bell CM;Stiell IG;Zarnke K;Forster AJ;, (2010 Sep), The independent association of provider and information continuity on outcomes after hospital discharge: Implications for hospitalists, J Hosp Med, Vol.5, Issue 7, 398-405 -> view abstract

van Walraven,C;Taljaard M;Bell CM;Etchells E;Stiell IG;Zarnke K;Forster AJ;, (2010 Sep), A prospective cohort study found that provider and information continuity was low after patient discharge from hospital, J Clin Epidemiol, Vol.63, Issue 9, 1000-1010 -> view abstract

Reimche L;Forster AJ;van WC;, (2010 Oct 6), Incidence and Contributors to Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Hospitalized Patients, J Clin Pharmacol , -> view abstract

Oake N;Taljaard M;van WC;Wilson K;Roth V;Forster AJ;, (2010 Nov 8), The Effect of Hospital-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection on In-Hospital Mortality, Arch Intern Med, Vol.170, Issue 20, 1804-1810 -> view abstract

van WC;Austin PC;Manuel D;Knoll G;Jennings A;Forster AJ;, (2010 May 8), The usefulness of administrative databases for identifying disease cohorts is increased with a multivariate model, J Clin Epidemiol, Vol.63, Issue 12, 1332-1341 -> view abstract

van Walraven,C;Dhalla IA;Bell C;Etchells E;Stiell IG;Zarnke K;Austin PC;Forster AJ;, (2010 Mar 1), Derivation and validation of an index to predict early death or unplanned readmission after discharge from hospital to the community, CMAJ Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol.182, Issue 6, 551-557 -> view abstract

Note: This is not a complete list of publications. More publications may be available in The Ottawa Hospital Library database and Pubmed (search by last name and initials).