Preconception Health Care Tool

“Improving health and nurturing a culture of wellness are both important to me, especially when it comes to our youngest Ontarians. It is great to know that women planning on getting pregnant can get help using the new Preconception Healthcare Tool. This tool can help ensure the best start for infants and their new mothers while encouraging discussions on health promotion which is one of my priorities.”

-Dipika Damerla, Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (responsible for Long-Term Care and Wellness)

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has engaged the Centre for Effective Practice (CEP), in partnership with the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO), to develop and disseminate a series of clinical tools and health information to support primary care providers. The Preconception tool has been developed as part of this series using CEP’s integrated knowledge translation development methods.

QUICK FACTS

  • Optimizing patients’ health and knowledge before conceiving improves maternal and infant outcomes.
  • Patients with chronic conditions may not be aware of the impact or adverse effects the condition or treatment may have on their infant.
  • This tool may facilitate conversations regarding risks associated with delayed childbearing.

INTENDED USE

  • Primary care providers are the target users for this tool.
  • Information is organized for use over a series of visits with your patients of a reproductive age to:
    - Assess a patient’s preconception health,
    - Address issues before patients become pregnant,
    - Consider the potential impact when diagnosing a patient and providing treatment, and
    - Counsel on current behaviours.
  • You can code time spent implementing the tool with patients using the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) billing code for individual care counselling (K013).

 

'IN THE KNOW' VIDEO

Check out our video on the Preconception Health Care Tool featuring Rebekah Barrett, NP and Dr. Deanna Telner for information about the tool, how it was developed and how primary care providers can use it in their practice.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CEP thanks the following individuals for their contribution to the development of the Preconception Health Care Tool:

  • Preconception Health Care Tool Working Group members, Rebekah Barrett, NP-PHC, MN, and Dr. Deanna Telner, MD, MEd, CCFP, FCFP;
  • Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) Reproductive Health Workgroup chair, Catriona Mill, RN, MHSc, CCHN(c), and member Joanne Enders, RN, BScN;
  • Ontario’s Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN), Enhanced Ontario Antenatal Record Working Group members, Stanley Lofsky, MD, CCFP, FCFP LM, and Debra Boyce, BSc, MD, FCFP;

Thank you to the following for providing feedback:

  • Wendy McAllister, Manager, Best Start Resource Centre at Health Nexus;
  • Genetics Education Canada – Knowledge Organization (GEC-KO) co-director Dr. June Carroll, MD, CCFP, FCFP, and manager, Shawna Morrison, MS, CGC;
  • Rita Barbieri, RD; Eat Right Ontario
  • Jackie Bellaire, MD, CCFP;
  • Christina Biancucci, MD, CCFP;
  • Lisa Graves, MD, CCFP, FCFP;
  • Anita Greig, MD, CCFP, FCFP;
  • Brandi Grozell, BScN, MSN, NP-PHC;
  • Michelle Lockyer, MD, CCFP; and
  • Patricia Mousmanis, MD, CCFP, FCFP.

TOOL

preconceptiontoolpreview

Our Preconception Health Care Tool is also available in Telus PS Suite EMR! Download the custom form here.

For instructions on how to import the form into your EMR, click here.

Please note: The Preconception Health Care Tool custom form and download instructions can also be accessed online via the TELUS Health Community Portal.

It is recommended that the tool be used on PS Suite EMR v5.2.702 or later to ensure full functionality of the form; use of the form on earlier versions of the EMR might result in a loss of some features and functionality.

This Tool contains links to websites and other external resources (“Third Party Resources”) that are operated by and/or created by third party organizations.

These third party organizations are solely responsible for the information contained in, and the operation of (as applicable), the Third Party Resources.

 

Clinical Leads

Deanna_Telnerblackandwhite2

Deanna Telner, MD, MEd, CCFP, FCFP Clinical Lead

Deanna Telner is a family physician at the community-based, academic teaching site, South East Toronto Family Health Team. She is involved in teaching medical students, residents and colleagues. She is an Assistant Professor and part-time researcher in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto. Her area of research interest is in postgraduate and continuing education. Dr. Telner has been extensively involved in the development of online clinical modules for primary care providers.

 

rebekah_barnettblackandwhite

Rebekah Barrett, NP-PHC, MN

Rebekah is a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner, currently working with a diverse population at the Regent Park Community Health Centre in Toronto. She has a passion for Primary Care, where she has worked since 2009 in multiple roles. As an RN at the Taddle Creek Family Health Team, Rebekah worked within the Smoking Cessation Program, Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program, Hypertension Clinic, and brought her experience as a pediatric emergency nurse to develop the Group Well Child Care and Ouchless Immunization Programs. Rebekah has been involved in several Quality Improvement initiatives and has worked with the Centre for Effective Practice on CAN-ADAPTT projects. She has participated in research such as CAMH’s STOP study and the BETTER Project, and has been part-time faculty in the CAMH Nicotine Dependence Clinic’s TEACH Project. In 2013, she was awarded the Canadian Nurses Foundation Rx&D Nurse Practitioner Award and the Registered Nurses Foundation of Ontario Maternal Child Nurses’ Interest Group Nurse Practitioner Scholarship. Rebekah completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Dalhousie University and her Master of Nursing at Athabasca University.

DOWNLOAD
TOOL

WATCH ‘IN THE
KNOW’ VIDEO

DOWNLOAD TOOL
BLACK & WHITE

ABOUT OUR
CLINICAL LEADS

SUPPORTING MATERIAL
& REFERENCES

PROVIDE YOUR
FEEDBACK

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND

View License Deed | View Legal Code

The Preconception Health Care Tool is a product of the Centre for Effective Practice. Permission to use, copy, and distribute this material for all non- commercial and research purposes is granted, provided the above disclaimer, this paragraph and the following paragraphs, and appropriate citations appear in all copies, modifications, and distributions. Use of the Preconception Health Care Tool for commercial purposes or any modifications of the tool are subject to charge and use must be negotiated with the Centre for Effective Practice (Email: [email protected])

For statistical and bibliographic purposes, please notify the Centre for Effective Practice ([email protected]) of any use or reprinting of the tool.

Please use the below citation when referencing the tool:

Reprinted with Permission from Centre for Effective Practice (November 2015). Preconception Health Care Tool. Toronto: Centre for Effective Practice

Disclaimer

This Tool was developed as part of the Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative, which is led by CEP with collaboration from OCFP. Clinical leadership for the development of this tool was provided by Rebekah Barrett MN, NP-PHC and Dr. Deanna Telner MD, MEd, CFPC, FCFP and was subject to external review by primary care providers and other relevant stakeholders. This Tool was funded by the Government of Ontario as part of the Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Initiative.

This Preconception Health Care Tool (the “Tool”) contains links to websites and other external resources (“Third Party Resources”) that are operated by and/or created by third party organizations. These third party organizations are solely responsible for the information contained in, and the operation of (as applicable), their respective Third Party Resource(s). This Tool was developed for licensed health care professionals in Ontario as a guide only and does not constitute medical or other professional advice. Primary Care Providers and other health care professionals are required to exercise their own clinical judgment in using this Tool. Neither the Centre for Effective Practice (“CEP”), Ontario College of Family Physicians, Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario or Government of Ontario, the contributors to this Tool, nor any of their respective agents, appointees, directors, officers, employees, contractors, members or volunteers: (i) are providing medical, diagnostic or treatment services through this Tool; (ii) to the extent permitted by applicable law, accept any responsibility for the use or misuse of this Tool by any individual including, but not limited to, primary care providers, or entity, including for any loss, damage or injury (including death) arising from or in connection with the use of this Tool, in whole or in part; or (iii) give or make any representation, warranty or endorsement of any of the Third Party Resources, that are owned or operated by third parties, including any information or advice contained therein.