What is POPLAR?
The Eastern Ontario Network (EON) and the six other provincial practice-based learning and research networks (PBLRNs) have coalesced to enhance our efficiency and potential for impact. Together, we form the Primary Care Ontario Practice-based Learning and Research (POPLAR) Network.
Soon, the electronic medical record (EMR) data of over 1.5 million patients of primary care providers participating in these networks will be merged in POPLAR to allow for very meaningful evaluations of primary care for the purpose of research, quality improvement, and planning.
EMR data is always de-identified, securely stored, and its access is highly controlled. Request for accessing EMR data for research involves a rigorous evaluation process of the project, including vetting its ethical merit.
What is POPLAR's mission?
POPLAR's mission is to enable primary healthcare learning, research, and data analytics that will:
- Enhance people’s experience of care
- Improve the health and well-being of Ontario’s population
- Reduce the cost of health care
- Increase the joy and meaning of work for health care providers
- Purposefully enhance health equity and justice in all our work
Who is in the POPLAR Network?
The networks that make up POPLAR are:
- Eastern Ontario Network (EON) at Queen's University
- University of Toronto Practice- and Community-based Learning And Research Network (UPLEARN) at University of Toronto
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine Research Toward Health Hub (NORTHH) at Northern Ontario School of Medicine
- Ottawa Practice Enhancement Network (OPEN) at University of Ottawa
- Deliver Primary Healthcare Information (DELPHI) at Western University
- McMaster University Sentinel and Information Collaboration (MUSIC) at McMaster University
- Equity, Performance, Improvement and Change (EPIC) at the Alliance for Healthier Communities
Practice-based research networks in the POPLAR Network
Want to find out more about POPLAR?
To find out more about what POPLAR does and how POPLAR and EON work together, please check out the following links: