In this, my final President’s Page, I wish to focus on a few Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) initiatives that I believe will have a significant long-term impact on respiratory health in Canada. We all know that CTS supports its members by providing them with evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), accredited continuing medical education and networking opportunities. What we sometimes forget is that CTS spends a great deal of its resources on harnessing the expertise of its members for the benefit, not only of its members, but of the respiratory community as a whole, and of Canadians who suffer or who are at risk of suffering from respiratory diseases. When I consider the combined impact of our work in research, CPGs and electronic health records (EHR), I am convinced that we are contributing to the establishment of a strong, sustainable respiratory health system in Canada.
Through the National Respiratory Research Strategy (NRRS), which was spearheaded by Denis E O’Donnell (past-President) and Andrew Halayko (Chair, CTS Research Committee), we and our partners are setting the foundation for sustained excellence in respiratory research in Canada. The strategy aims to raise awareness of respiratory research, build research capacity, enhance research programs and facilitate knowledge translation. As part of the strategy, we plan to establish the RENASCENT Program, a research training program that will include mentorship and career transition training. We are also working very closely with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health on the development of a pan-Canadian respiratory research network. We have developed a business plan to support the staged implementation of the NRRS over the next few years, integrating the necessary fundraising for each of its components.
Another key area in which we are engaged is the development, dissemination and knowledge translation of CPGs. Under the guidance of Louis-Philippe Boulet, the Canadian Respiratory Guidelines Committee (CRGC) has established a process for the development of world-class evidence-based CPGs, and a three-year plan that focuses on implementation and evaluation of CPGs. Our various clinical assemblies are developing our CPGs using best practices, and our guidelines are well received throughout the national and international respiratory community.
More recently, we have become key partners in the Pan-Canadian REspiratory STandards INitiative for Electronic Health Records (PRESTINE). Through this initiative, we are collaborating with partners on the development of standardized respiratory data elements for use in EHR across Canada. With our partners, we aim to develop pan-Canadian data sets to facilitate surveillance, benchmarking, the delivery of evidence-based care and the evaluation of CPGs in respiratory health.
Our work in research, CPGs and EHR hold much value as individual initiatives, but when we consider their complementarity, their full significance emerges. PRESTINE is facilitating the development of standard data sets for use at the point of care by health professionals across Canada. Once these data sets are in place and data are collected, we will have a trove of reliable data to use as the basis for research, CPG development and knowledge translation. As a result, the standardization of diagnoses and treatment is more likely to emerge within the national health care system; our ability to evaluate the impact of CPGs will be enhanced; and it will be easier to identify health care gaps and target research accordingly. All of these enhancements are necessary components of an efficient and effective respiratory health care system. (To understand the full impact of PRESTINE, please see the article, “Pan-Canadian Respiratory Standards Initiative for Electronic Health Records (PRESTINE) – 2011 National Forum Proceedings” in the current issue of the Canadian Respiratory Journal (pages 117–126).
I will soon pass the baton to President-elect Rob McFadden. Fortunately, I am doing so at an exciting time, knowing that I am placing an impactful organization, and a great group of specialists, researchers and other physicians, in the hands of a competent leader. Together, they will see to it that the CTS continues to make a difference in respiratory health.
Finally, I wish to thank all CTS members and, in particular, Committee and Clinical Assembly members, Executive Committee and Board of Directors members, as well as staff who have supported the CTS and facilitated my work as CTS President over the past year.
Respectfully submitted,
George A Fox MD MSc FRCPC FCCP
President, Canadian Thoracic Society