Nursing quality report card project to transform care

Led by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses (ACEN), the NNQR initiative is part of Infoway’s Health System Use (HSU) demonstration program, designed to showcase the benefits of analyzing anonymous health information to improve clinical programs, manage the health system, monitor the health of the public and conduct research. 

“To ensure Canadians have the same access to the highest quality care possible, we must prioritize information sharing and let evidence guide the way,” said CNA’s CEO Rachel Bard. “With the National Nursing Quality Report, we’re leading a shift towards common national benchmarks and health outcomes driving the delivery of nursing care, which in turn drives system performance improvements and a healthier population.”

The focus of the project will be on the outcomes of care provided by nurses. Existing sources of secure and non-identifiable patient data captured in the electronic health record (EHR), along with other clinical and administrative data sources, will be analyzed with the aim of improving the quality of the health system and enabling health-care professionals to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Specific structural, process and outcome indicators, such as pressure ulcers, falls, therapeutic self-care and measures of staffing levels, turnover and practice environments will be selected. The NNQR will capitalize on the potential for EHR systems to enable new ways of gathering and sharing health information.

“Advances in health information and communication technologies across Canada have resulted in significant clinical value by making the information required to make care decisions readily available to authorized health professionals,” said Maureen Charlebois, Chief Nursing Executive, Infoway.  “The rich population-based health information contained in these systems also presents an excellent opportunity to gauge evidence-based best practices, benefitting the health system as a whole.  I applaud the CNA and ACEN for leading this project.” 

“Nurses make up the largest group of health-care professionals in our country and have direct interaction with the population at all levels of the system, at every stage of life,” added Bard. “In the name of accountability to the health of all Canadians, the nursing profession is stepping up to closely examine the outcomes of our interaction with patients and share what we can learn on a national level in a very systematic way.”

NNQR’s leadership committee is made up of representatives from CNA, ACEN, Infoway, Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Nursing Health Services Research Unit at the University of Toronto and organizational health care leaders. The project will be piloted in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in three different sectors: acute care, long-term care and inpatient mental health. With the support of nurse leaders and provincial/territorial nurse advisors across the country, the report project will go a long way in establishing a community of practice for the nursing profession.

CNA is the national professional voice of registered nurses in Canada. A federation of 11 provincial and territorial nursing associations and colleges representing 146,788 registered nurses, CNA advances the practice and profession of nursing to improve health outcomes and strengthen Canada’s publicly funded, not-for-profit health system.

The Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses represents the voice of nursing leadership in Canada. Founded over thirty years ago, ACEN was created as a network of chief nursing executives of acute and community  teaching hospitals, provincial nursing officers, deans and directors of Schools of nursing. ACEN has provided a forum for discussion of mutual issues and a source of support to nurse executives in dealing with similar and unique cross provincial challenges in the health care system.

Canada Health Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government. Infoway jointly invests with every province and territory to accelerate the development and adoption of information and communications technology projects in Canada. Fully respecting patient confidentiality, these secure systems will provide clinicians and patients with the information they need to better support safe care decisions and manage their own health. Accessing this vital information quickly will help foster a more modern and sustainable health-care system for all Canadians.

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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Kate Headley

External Communications Coordinator
Canadian Nurses Association
Telephone: (613) 237-2159, ext. 561
Cell: (613) 697-7507
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.