The Vancouver Community Analytics Tool (VCAT): Software Enabling Operationalization of the Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care at Community Health Centers in British Columbia, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Community health centers (CHCs) in British Columbia, Canada, are using a data-driven approach to enable functions related to the design, organization, management, delivery, and evaluation of primary health care services for complex populations. METHODS: Descriptive study leveraging case studies from 4 CHCs in Vancouver, Canada, to provide an overview and examples of the functions and outputs of the Vancouver Community Analytics Tool (VCAT). Quantitative data were derived from electronic medical record data and regional emergency department data. Data were analyzed and reported by the VCAT software. RESULTS: VCAT is a health system modeling, analytics, and reporting application suite that enables operationalization of the Ten Building Blocks of High-Performing Primary Care framework via 1) creation of a virtual patient record, 2) modeling and measurement of epidemiological profiles, 3) population management and quality improvement, 4) measurement and assessment of biopsychosocial complexity, 5) empanelment, and 6) design and optimization of team-based care. The software captures data on patient pathways and service operations for over 300 service sites, including community health centers, detox centers, and emergency departments. The software integrates data on service utilization and myriad other variables for over 750,000 individuals. DISCUSSION: Using case studies, the article describes how the software helps solve practical clinical, organizational, and performance issues facing CHCs. CONCLUSIONS: VCAT models, analyzes, and visualizes the complexity profiles and service utilization patterns of complex populations, thereby enabling system administrators and clinicians to improve system performance and quality of care. The software represents a significant advance for health services research and is transforming the organization, delivery, and evaluation of primary health care services.

A Multi-sourced Data Analytics Approach to Measuring and Assessing Biopsychosocial Complexity: The Vancouver Community Analytics Tool Complexity Module (VCAT-CM).

Operationalization of the fundamental building blocks of primary care (i.e. empanelment, team-based care and population management) within the context of Community Health Centers requires accurate and real-time measures of biopsychosocial complexity, at both client and population-levels. This article describes the conceptualization, design and development of a novel software tool (the VCAT-Complexity Module) that can calculate and report real-time person-oriented biopsychosocial complexity profiles, using multiple data sources. The tool aligns with a profile approach to conceptualizing health outcomes, and represents a potentially significant advance over disease-oriented complexity assessment tools. The results and face validity of the software's complexity score outputs are discussed, along with their practical implications on functions related to the development of primary care within Vancouver Coastal Health, a Canadian Regional Health Authority.