Health Analytics, Quality, and Safety
We want Calgary to continue to lead in the development of innovative models of care locally and nationally, and believe that prioritizing this initiative will allow us to continue to do so.
Led by Dr. Ward Flemons, Vice Chair and Dr. Mayur Brahmania, Associate Vice Chair, Health Analytics, Safety, & Quality Improvement (HAS&QI), the office is responsible for facilitating a strong quality improvement and patient safety culture that will continuously improve the care delivered to our patients. The Office is directly supported by the Department’s HAS&QI staff whose mandate is to implement clinical structure, process and outcome measurement tools, support education opportunities, and support the design and implementation of local quality improvement initiatives in partnership with each of the Department’s 11 Sections. These activities align with the Cumming School of Medicine’s Strategic Priority area of supporting innovative collaboration & teamwork, the Department of Medicine’s 2023-28 Strategic Plan (priority 5), and AHS’ foundational Strategy for Clinical Health Research, Innovation & Analytics.
Who We Are
Dr. Ward Flemons was a Medical Director for the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) for over 10 years and in that capacity led and participated in several large reviews of Alberta’s health system. He was the VP of Quality and Safety for the former Calgary Health Region (CHR) and led the organization in developing a culture that prioritized safety following the deaths of two Calgary patients in 2004. In 2022 he co-authored the book, Fatal Solution: How a healthcare system used tragedy to transform itself and redefine Just Culture. He is a former Board member of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and is the current lead for the Cumming School of Medicine’s Precision Health Certificate, Diploma and Master’s Quality and Safety stream.
Dr. Mayur Brahmania brings National and Local experience in QI having been involved with Choosing Wisely Canada and Co-Creator of the Ivey-Schulich Healthcare Incubator overseeing QI projects totaling over 10 million dollars in healthcare saving while improving patient care. With background in QI methodology and system change he brings a wealth of experience into translating local QI projects into long-term system wide sustainable changes.
Dr. Kristen Brown is a Medical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician. She was the Quality Improvement Lead for the Calgary Zone Adult Home Parenteral Therapy Program from 2019-2023 and is currently a Medical Informatics Lead for the Laboratory with the Chief Medical Information Office as well as co-chairs the Calgary Zone Department of Medicine Quality Assurance Committee. She completed a postgraduate diploma in Epidemiology with the University of London, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Dr. Andrew Frank-Wilson is the Department of Medicine’s Health Analytics & Quality Improvement Lead with over 15 years experience collecting, analyzing, and managing data in academic, government, and health authority organizations. He is an Alumnus of the Universities of Western Ontario, Saskatchewan, and a former Epidemiology Fellow of the National Institute on Aging, U.S National Institutes of Health.
Department of Medicine Health Analytics and Quality Working Group
The Office facilitates a Health Analytics & Quality (HAQ) committee that creates an opportunity for each of its Sections to have access to health analytics and quality improvement support for their projects. The HAQ committee provides guidance on the prioritization of measurement and quality improvement proposals, and reviews applications for the Department’s annual Health Analytics & Quality Award Competition. The working group also facilitates a Speaker Series from September through June that enable quality improvement (QI) practitioners to share their knowledge and experiences with their peers. The sessions are an interactive scholarly lecture with invited speakers with themes centered around methodology, tools, research, leadership, and data. Upcoming HAQ speaker/session information is promoted by DOM Announcements and Newsletters.
Membership
The HAQ group’s philosophy is that high quality health data analytics, driven by appropriate clinical questions, leads to improved models of practice and care delivery as well as to more comprehensive short, medium, and long- term workforce planning within the Department.
| Name | Role/Representation |
|---|---|
| Ward Flemons | Chair |
| Mayur Brahmania | Co-Chair |
| Andrew Frank-Wilson | Co-Chair / Health Analytics & Quality Team Lead |
| Allan Ryan | Clinical Analytics |
| Barbara Roberts | Calgary Zone Analytics & Reporting |
| Laurie Parsons | Dermatology |
| Vicky Parkins | Endocrinology |
| Aziz Shaheen | Gastroenterology |
| Michelle Grinman | General Internal Medicine |
| Erika Dempsey | Geriatric Medicine |
| Lesley Street | Hematology |
| Kristen Brown | Infectious Diseases |
| Allison Mirotchnik | Manager, Department of Medicine |
| Melissa Schorr / Matt James | Nephrology |
| Rachel Lim | Respirology |
| Claire Barber | Rheumatology |
| Kamran Qureshi | Senior Analyst – Medicine Operations |
| Vacant | Quality and Process Improvement Consultant |
Requests for Support
- Any formal data, analytics, and/or quality improvement request should include the support of a sponsor in a formal leadership role within the Department of Medicine (Department Head, Section Head, Site Lead, etc.).
- Requests can be for operational health analytics or quality improvement support. Research health analytics requests are considered within the narrow mandate of clinical structure, process & outcome measurement tool development and must be directly relevant to the Department of Medicine.
- Health analytics and quality improvement requests eligible for prioritization will be referred to the Health Analytics & Quality Working Group for consideration/recommendation for DOM support.
- Medicine Operations-related requests may be triaged with AHS Calgary Zone Analytics & Reporting Services.