Dr. Joshua Tepper is a family physician and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Quality Ontario (HQO). As an arm’s length agency of the provincial government, HQO works in partnership with Ontario’s health care system to support a better experience of care and better outcomes for Ontarians. Dr. Tepper remains in active practice, serving marginalized populations and taking on clinical leadership roles. Currently, he provides direct services on the St. Michael’s Hospital Family Health Team and in the Emergency Department at North York General Hospital.
Dr. Tepper spoke to CMHA Ontario conference delegates about the importance of leading with quality and client-centred care. He outlined nine attributes of a high-quality health system:
- Accessible: People should be able to receive the right care at the right time in the right setting by the right health care provider.
- Effective: People should receive care that works and that is based on the best available scientific information.
- Safe: People should not be harmed by an accident or mistakes when they receive care.
- Patient-centred: Health care providers should offer services in a way that is sensitive to an individual’s needs and preferences.
- Equitable: People should receive the same quality of care regardless of who they are and where they live.
- Efficient: The health system should continually look for ways to reduce waste, including waste of supplies, equipment, time, ideas and information.
- Appropriately resourced: The health system should have enough qualified providers, funding, information, equipment, supplies and facilities to look after people’s health needs.
- Integrated: All parts of the health system should be organized, connected and work with one another to provide high-quality care.
- Focused on population health: The health system should work to prevent sickness and improve the health of the people of Ontario.
During his presentation, Dr. Tepper emphasized the importance of learning from errors as well as best practices in order to improve quality of care. He encouraged conference participants to continue to use evidence-based practices and support leaders who seek improvement.
For more on HQO’s work, visit their website.