Equity, Performance, Improvement, Change (EPIC) Network – Community-based teams using data to improve health care

The EPIC Learning Health System (French:ACTE) is a founding member network of POPLAR and belongs to the 117 organizations of the Alliance for Healthier Communities, a network of  community health centres and similar organizations across Ontario, and have a shared goal of helping communities with greater needs to achieve better health outcomes.  Although the Alliance began with Community Health Centres, it now includes several kinds of primary health care teams that support health in similar ways. They are all directed by community members, and they provide a variety of services and programs, including:

• health care,

• access to food,

• housing support,

  education, and

• social connection.

Recently Community Health Centres have adopted a learning health system approach to more quickly improve how they deliver care. The key to their success is data – including patient data from electronic medical records (EMR). The name “EPIC,” which stands for Equity, Performance, Improvement, and Change, reflects Alliance members’ commitment to using their data and practice-based research to improve health care processes and health outcomes, especially for those people who face barriers to health and wellbeing. Key parts of EPIC include:

• easy‑to‑understand reports that help teams compare their progress and set goals,

• training and coaching to improve quality of care,

• learning programs you can join live or complete on your own,

• support from other teams who share ideas, and

• a library of helpful resources.

Recently, the EPIC Learning Health System team at the Alliance created a set of helpful resources to support organizations in improving access to primary health care. These tools also help teams use their funding wisely and make good decisions when planning to grow their services. The resources include:

Interprofessional Primary Care Team (IPCT)  Expansion Toolkit: A collection of real examples, reports, tools, and ideas for improvement.

Community of Practice: A group for Alliance member organizations that received Interprofessional Primary Care Team expansion funding, where they can learn from and support each other.

Two learning collaboratives: One helps teams become more efficient so they can serve more people. The other focuses on creating a fair and simple intake process.

One-on-one coaching: Support from the Alliance’s three Quality Improvement & Performance Leads to help teams plan, carry out, and review new tools and processes.

To learn more about these Interprofessional Primary Care Team expansion supports or other elements of the EPIC Learning Health System, email  LHS@AllianceON.org.

To keep up with the activities of the EPIC Learning Health System, please subscribe to their newsletter:  EPIC News.