Quality Improvement Decision Support Specialist FamilyHealth

Job Responsibility: Union Affiliation: Non Union

The Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) is strongly committed to the care of the inner city population. In addition to providing care and teaching in all aspects of basic family medicine, our staff has developed expertise in a number of areas in response to the needs of the community we serve. These areas include HIV primary care, addiction medicine, the care of people who are homeless or under-housed, the poor as well as adolescents and new immigrants. Clinical activities in these areas are fully integrated within the day-to-day practice of family medicine.

The Quality Improvement Decision Support Specialist (QIDSS) is responsible for supporting the St. Michael¿s Hospital Academic Family Health Team (SMHAFHT) quality steering committee and the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) local quality teams in their planning, decision-making and implementation of Quality Improvement (QI) activities. This includes reviewing data quality, supporting teams in the implementation of data quality initiatives, improving the flow and use of information, developing queries and analytical products to support the DFCM and SMHAFHT and its leaders in their quality improvement goals and teams engaged in clinical process change.

The QIDSS's will extract and analyze health information from a number of sources; electronic medical record Practice Solutions, Cancer Care Ontario's Screening Activity Report, EMRALD related to the quality measures specified in the FHT's Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). The QIDSS will produce and disseminate user-friendly quality reports that will assist in improving patient care. These include practice-level reports for the FHT Board and other governance bodies and provider-specific reports with patient information that would facilitate recall and reminders to improve quality of care. The QIDSS will also lead quality initiatives across the department including delivery of our patient experience survey, assist with preparation of the FHT¿s QIP, and support residents in completing their QI projects.

The QIDSS is also expected to participate in broader data harmonization initiatives and champion the use of data and performance analytics within the SMHAFHT.

Key Responsibilities:

• Data Extraction & Analysis (75%) - Collect, clean, and analyze healthcare data from various sources (e.g., EMRs, databases, and reporting tools) to support quality improvement and performance measurement.
• Quality Improvement Support (25%) - Work with interdisciplinary teams to translate data insights into actionable quality improvement initiatives, supporting program evaluation, performance monitoring, and reporting.
• Develop dashboards, visualizations, and reports that effectively communicate trends, key performance indicators, and improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with clinical and administrative teams to identify data needs, ensure data integrity, and provide evidence-based recommendations.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduate degree or equivalent in health, social sciences or research methods (Health Informatics, Health Science or Health Administration)
• Experience in a clinical setting, preferably in primary care and demonstrated interest in the use of data for quality improvement
• Demonstrated statistical knowledge and skills and knowledge of statistical analysis packages like SAS, SPSS, S-plus, or STATA
• Strong computer literacy with all Microsoft Office applications a, Clinical Epidemiology and demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Excel
• Excellent report writing skills including proficiency in graphical display of information
• Demonstrated expertise in quantitative analysis, developing, producing and analyzing reports, identifying trends, verifying accuracy of data and reports
• Formal QI training/certification and/or QI experience in a health-care setting or similar experience
• Knowledge of best practices in the field of software / application and database development, health information regulations
• A good understanding of e-Health initiatives (EMRs, reporting systems etc.)
• Experience with organizing, maintaining and using large databases for research or quality improvement
• Excellent organizational and project management skills with attention to detail
• Good knowledge of medical terminology
• Familiarity with federal and provincial privacy legislations surrounding health information (PHIPA, PIPEDA)
• Experience in conducting literature searches and summarizing evidence
• Direct experience in programming to extract data from electronic medical records is an asset
• Experience working with patients is an asset
• Familiarity with DFCM patients, DFCM operations, and DFCM/SMH Quality processes is an asset
• Familiarity with academic primary care and Family Health Team operations is an asset
• Customer - focused individual with excellent time management, decision making and analytical skills
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral presentation)
• Ability to work closely with health professionals and maintain good relations with physicians and other staff
• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to read and interpret complicated clinical documentation
• Ability to multitask, work to tight deadlines and prioritize workload on a regular basis
• Ability to work independently on a regular basis
• Ability to work as a Team Member in a large, diverse department to help achieve an environment conducive to achievement of department goals
• Ability to conduct and analyze review of relevant literature

Unity Health Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We strive to provide a recruitment process that is barrier-free and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We understand that you may require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. When you are contacted, please inform the Talent Acquisition Specialist and we will work with you to meet your accommodation needs. We want to emphasize that all accommodation requests are handled with the utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and dignity.