Research Chair in eConsult and Primary Healthcare Delivery,
Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa
uOttawa has a Research Chair program that recognizes and supports the sustained research accomplishments of University of Ottawa Researchers. The program offers 5-year non-renewable terms for which Research Chairs are allocated an annual stipend to support their research. The program aims to support research related to the University of Ottawa's strategic areas of research, integrating principles of equity and inclusion into research, and teaching and learning at the graduate level.
Dr. Clare Liddy, University of Ottawa Research Chair
Dr. Clare Liddy was awarded a University of Ottawa Research Chair in 2020 for research excellence in eConsult and Primary Health Care Delivery. Dr. Liddy's proposed program of research for this Research Chair term will support the study of eConsult's impact on improving access to care for high-needs populations through the following research objectives:
Research Objectives
1) eConsult for populations living with chronic conditions
In order to achieve this, we will:
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build key partnerships across Canada, such as the Canadian Consortium for Neurodegeneration and Aging group,
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support existing research activities like a national Canadian Institute for Health Research grant focused on eConsult and chronic pain
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explore new grant opportunities, especially in the area of dementia care
2) eConsult in institutional settings (e.g., prisons, LTC homes)
In order to achieve this, we will:
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build key partnerships with organizations such as the Ministry of Long-Term Care and Correctional Services Canada, who have both expressed interest in implementing eConsult
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continue research activities in LTC funded by CLRI, including a retrospective case audit of eConsult sent from LTC facilities
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conduct simple descriptive, cross-sectional design studies exploring eConsult's impact in various institutional setting
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apply for CIHR funding to examine the impact of eConsult on patient care within prisons
3) Global expansion of eConsult with artificial intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP)
In order to achieve this, we will:
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develop a suite of tools, including a text mining algorithm, chat bot, and visualizations for real-time displays of primary care knowledge sports
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role them out nation-wide using cloud-based data storage
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disseminate resulting knowledge products widely
Framework & Principles
Engagement with Research Users and Communication of Results
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Media releases, policy briefing notes, case-based learning, infographics, web-based tools, eBooks, implementation guides, targeted materials in lay languages, newsletters, printing pamphlets, collaborations with partners to leverage their communication resources, and social media.
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Will include patient partners as coauthors and presenters, in order to ensure that the voices of those most directly affected by healthcare are represented accurately.
Training Strategies
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This program of research will provide support to a post-doctoral fellow, who will have the opportunity to lead the design, coordination, and analysis of research studies, and family medicine summer students, who will work with Dr. Liddy’s team to carry out research activities
For more information about Dr. Liddy's work with students, see here.