About Us

Thrombosis Canada^TM:  Mission:

Thrombosis Canada^TM (TC) promotes excellent patient care and improved outcomes, for patients with thrombosis, through high-quality knowledge translation, educational resources and point-of-care guidance for diverse groups of healthcare professionals, as well as delivering education for patients and the general public.

Thrombosis Canada^TM:  Vision

Thrombotic vascular disease, which encompasses myocardial ischemia, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and venous thromboembolism, represents the single greatest risk to the health of Canadians.

By bringing evidence-based primary and secondary prevention strategies to Canadian clinicians, the human and economic burden of vascular disease will be reduced.

We believe that providing point-of-care clinical guidance, founded on national and international guidelines, is the most effective and cost-efficient way to improve patient safety and outcomes, within a framework of patient-centred values and preferences.

Thrombosis Canada^TM:  Assets

Experience

Thrombosis Canada^TM, formerly known as Thrombosis Interest Group of Canada, has been the voice of vascular medicine in Canada since 1991.

Independence

Thrombosis Canada^TM is a Canadian registered charity (#843620477 RR 0001) with no commercial interests.

Membership

The organization boasts a membership including the most eminent and internationally recognized thrombosis experts globally.  Members have made many significant contributions to the body of knowledge in vascular medicine and disseminated that knowledge through countless peer reviewed journal publications and books as well authoring national and international clinical practice guidelines.  Members represent medical and non-medical generalists and specialists.

Clinical Guides

A unique asset of the organization is an extensive set of clinical guides to assist clinicians with point of care decision making.  The Thrombosis Canada^TM Clinical Guides are:

• Developed by Thrombosis Canada^TM members, internationally recognized as experts
• Peer reviewed by Thrombosis Canada committee
• Reviewed for applicability to primary care by members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada
• Reflect recommendations of evidence based clinical practice guidelines
• Designed to be robust, yet concise enough to be applicable at the point of care
• Easily adaptable to Electronic Medical Records
• Nationally disseminated
• Potentially the foundation of a practice quality improvement program

Thrombosis Canada^TM:  Values:

Internal Values

Improving health-care related quality of life for Canadians through the prevention and treatment of thrombotic vascular disease

Independence from commercial interests

Membership including medical, surgical and other health care professionals involved in the care of patients with or at risk of thrombotic and vascular disease

Provision of point of care practice quality improvement strategies

Support development and knowledge translation of evidence based clinical practice guidelines

Member volunteerism

Support promising young researchers in thrombotic disease through the Thrombosis Canada^TM Fellowship

Development of concise “clinical guides” to assist clinicians, at the point of care, to deliver optimal management of thrombotic disease

Partner with academic, professional and governmental organizations to achieve our mission

System Values

Optimization of health care to ensure:

High quality, evidence based health care delivered to all Canadians anchored on the principle of universal health care

Appropriate resource allocation

Integration of all health care professionals to ensure continuity and transition of best care

Timely availability of health care resources

Timely integration of the patient to the community

Patient safety

Primary care based health care system

Thrombosis Canada^TM:  System Roles

Improve health care delivery for Canadians relating to thrombotic disorders

Create and deliver practice quality improvement initiatives related to vascular medicine in primary care

Empower primary care physicians to effectively manage vascular disease resulting in:

• Timely initiation of vascular risk reduction strategies for both primary and secondary prevention
• Fewer acute vascular events
• Improved vascular outcomes
• Improved patient safety
• Reduced emergency room utilization
• Early, appropriate hospital discharge and seamless transition to primary care setting
• Improved early post-discharge management to reduce ER visits, hospital re-admissions
• Optimize resource utilization by promoting appropriate use of laboratory testing and imaging

Ongoing development and dissemination of clinical practice guidelines to encourage evidence based care in vascular medicine to optimize resource utilization

Further research and human resources in vascular medicine through the Thrombosis Canada^TM Fellowship.  Recipients are responsible for over 1000 peer reviewed publications.

Thrombosis Canada^TM:  Opportunity for value-added collaboration

Thrombosis Canada^TM sees partnerships as an opportunity to create “best in class” practice quality improvement programs (QIP) in vascular disease for primary care physicians.  We envision an EMR structured QIP, based on the Thrombosis Canada^TM clinical guides, aimed to improve and optimize patient care in vascular medicine.  Although many options are possible, indicators to be considered may include:

Appropriate utilization of:

• Known primary and secondary risk reduction strategies
• Specialist referrals
• Emergency room visits
• Non-physician health care professional referrals e.g. post MI rehabilitation
• Imaging and other investigations

Patient satisfaction

• System flow
• Wait times

Clinical outcomes

• Surrogate
• Morbidity and mortality

Primary Care Physician competence and confidence in management of vascular conditions including

• Post-discharge MI and stroke
• Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
• Post-discharge orthopedic venous thromboembolism prophylaxis
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Peripheral arterial disease
• Primary prevention

Vascular disease represents the single greatest risk to the health of Canadians and a huge economic burden to the health care budget.  Partnered with fellow organizations, Thrombosis Canada^TM is uniquely positioned to improve the care in this common and often catastrophic disease spectrum.