Centre selects RHI’s Global Research Platform for pilot program in 8 sites across BC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VANCOUVER (NOVEMBER 14, 2013) – British Columbia’s Centre for Hip Health & Mobility (CHHM) is teaming up with the Rick Hansen Institute (RHI) to improve best practice care for patients with hip fractures. The innovative partnership has CHHM using RHI’s Global Research Platform, a user-friendly web-based data collection and data warehousing platform, to obtain a baseline of patients experiencing hip fractures and care provided following implementation of best practices.
“The Rick Hansen Institute Global Research Platform (RHI GRP) will be used in the development and operation of a Pilot Hip Fracture Redesign Project in order to collect prospective data across eight clinical sites in BC”, said Dr Pierre Guy, Associate Professor and clinician-scientist, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia and Co-Theme Leader, Fracture Prevention, CHHM . The Vancouver-based research centre improves the lives of Canadians by decreasing the burden of arthritis and fall-related fractures, and is affiliated with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the University of British Columbia.
Hip fractures from simple falls in the elderly represent a significant public health burden due to their frequency (about 4,000 admissions in BC annually) and the expected growth in such injuries from an aging population. Hip fracture events affect individuals with up to 30% dying in the year that follows and 50% losing one level of mobility and independence. Estimates of first year cost of care range from $26,000 to $47,000 per fracture depending on the level of support required.
“Similar initiatives such as the UK National Hip Fracture Database and the Swedish Hip Fracture Register have informed best practices guiding care decisions and proven effective in decreasing not only complications and mortality, but have affected length of hospital stay and the need for long term care. Supported by policy and health administrative changes, a coordinated initiative of introducing best practices can result in significant financial and quality of care gains here in BC,” said Dr Guy. “Initially aimed as a pilot project of sites caring for hip fracture patients, interest in the CHHM project from other health authorities has grown, where additional sites now wish to participate. This is a welcomed development in considering a future provincial roll-out.”
The resulting database will link Ministry of Health and Public Health Services Authority data to real-time data actively collected through the RHI GRP. Although originally developed for use in the collection of spinal cord injury (SCI) data for clinical research purposes, the RHI GRP can be used in the collection of clinical data in any indication, for quality improvement and for ethics approved research purposes. The RHI GRP is currently in use by 31 SCI centres across Canada for the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry and other multi-site clinical trials and best practice implementation efforts.
“This is the first time the RHI GRP is being used for conditions other than spinal cord injury”, said, Bill Barrable, CEO of RHI. “It is very exciting to see the application of our research platform above and beyond our SCI clinical research community. Being able to measure the benefits of best practice implementation is integral to ensuring better outcomes for patients, regardless of their medical condition.”
About the Rick Hansen Institute
The Rick Hansen Institute (RHI) is a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization committed to accelerating the translation of discoveries and best practices into improved treatments for people with spinal cord injuries. It does this by leading the collaboration of researchers, health care professionals and service providers across Canada and internationally. Established in 2007 by the Rick Hansen Foundation, RHI has matched leadership and research collaboration with government funding to facilitate one of the largest interdisciplinary spinal cord injury research programs in the world. For more information, please visit: www.rickhanseninstitute.org.
About the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility
The Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, located at the Vancouver General Hospital, conducts innovative research programs to decrease the burden of falls, fracture and arthritis across BC, Canada, and the world. It is the first international research centre to broadly focus on problems affecting the human hip across the lifespan by integrating researchers in various aspects of bone health, falls prevention, and arthritis. The Centre is a partnership of UBC Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.
For more information please contact:
Dan Maceluch
Lead, Network Engagement & Stakeholder Relations
Rick Hansen Institute
Tel: 604.707.2114
Email: