Atrial Fibrillation in Ontario
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of irregular heartbeat and is associated with poor quality of life, increased risk of death, stroke, heart failure and hospitalization. CorHealth has begun a three phase multi-year initiative to understand the current state of AF in the province, to develop recommendations for system change, and ultimately improve access to catheter ablations for eligible patients with AF in Ontario.
The 3 phases of the project are described here in more detail:
- Phase 1 will focus on documenting current state for the purpose of gaining a clear and accurate understanding of all the factors influencing timely access to catheter ablation for AF. Once these factors have been identified, recommendations for system change to improve the care pathway for catheter ablations for AF will be developed. This is particularly important, given access issues pre-dating the pandemic have been made worse with the COVID-19 ramp-down.
- Phase 2 of this project will focus on knowledge transfer to the field and implementation of the recommendations, that have been validated and prioritized by cardiac stakeholders, to improve access to catheter ablation for eligible patients with AF in Ontario.
- Phase 3 activities will focus on further opportunities to optimize integration and continuous improvement, including a shift towards a disease-based approach to improving evidence-based care for Ontarians with atrial fibrillation.