The Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) is the first and only pan-Canadian multi-disease electronic medical record (EMR) surveillance system. Eleven primary care research networks from across Canada contribute data to CPCSSN, including the BC arm, BC-CPCSSN, which is embedded within the BC Primary Health Care Research Network (BC-PHCRN).
As a tool for clinical practice quality improvement, BC-CPCSSN allows physicians and other primary care clinicians to examine their own practice in detail. This includes the ability to track active patients, manage chronic diseases, and explore their practice patterns. For example, in 2022 clinicians received a personalized antibiotic prescription portrait comparing their prescribing patterns to peers in BC and other provinces.
As a tool for research, CPCSSN securely collects de-identified health information from EMRs of participating primary care clinicians (e.g. family physicians and nurse practitioners) who are referred to as sentinels. There are opportunities to link BC-CPCSSN data with other aspects of the health system (i.e. hospitalization data). This work allows researchers, policy makers, and clinicians to better understand practice efficiencies and to address gaps in primary care across the country. Clinicians have the opportunity to participate in a variety of research projects.
Information flow in BC-CPCSSN
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BC Primary Health Care Research Network 