Dr. Hatch, an Assistant Professor in the Department, is Research Manager at Kensington Eye Institute (KEI), and Co-Chair of the department’s Quality Improvement Committee.  She is a Torontonian who took her Optometry degree at the University of Waterloo, joined the glaucoma research group at Toronto Western Hospital, and completed her Masters in Vision Science in Waterloo under the direction of Drs. Graham Trope and John Flanagan.  She subsequently embarked on a research career that has included managing and collaborating on clinical trials and on population-based epidemiologic research.  Her work on the provincial Wait Time Strategy and collaborations with investigators at the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Science using Ontario-wide data led to publications on rates and complications of cataract surgery in internationally recognized high profile journals. Throughout her career, Dr. Hatch has also continued to see patients as an optometrist in a group practice. 

What do you do in your role at KEI?

I work with our Research Committee to advise and assist ophthalmologists in designing and implementing their research at KEI.   I help investigators launch research projects and oversee the projects once they are up and running. My focus is ensuring that researchers have all the nuts and bolts of running a study in place so that they successfully complete their projects. This includes ensuring the following are in place: ethics approval, a contract and funding, sufficient staff, insurance and allocated space, support for data capture and analysis, and good clinical practice.  I also help ensure that the study participants are well taken care and kept informed.
 
What major research projects are you currently involved in at KEI?

With Dr. Neera Singal and the team of corneal surgeons and staff, I am studying a group of over 600 participants, examining the feasibility and efficacy of corneal cross-linking for patients with keratoconus and other similar diseases.  We are also collaborating with researchers at the University of Waterloo who are using innovative high resolution imaging to learn more about the disease and cross-linking. Corneal cross-linking can delay or stop the progression of keratoconus. This is important because keratoconus causes vision loss -- 10-20% of keratoconic eyes require a corneal transplant.  If corneal cross-linking can delay or prevent corneal transplants, it will improve the quality of life for these patients. I also suspect corneal cross-linking could provide cost savings to the healthcare system. Dr. Victoria Leung, one of our PGY2s, and I are comparing the cost effectiveness of traditional management of keratoconus without corneal cross-linking, to early intervention with corneal cross-linking. 

Do you have other projects on the go at KEI?

I am one of the leads on the Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative (ONDRI), a new province-wide initiative in partnership with the Ontario Brain Institute. ONDRI is enabling our research team to explore the role of retinal imaging in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.  More than 600 participants will be followed for up to three years with assessments for genomics, gait and balance, eye tracking, retinal imaging, neuropsychology, and neuroimaging.   This work will help us to determine  if retinal imaging can be used as a biomarker to predict neurodegenerative disease.  It is very exciting to be involved in a large multi-centred, multi-disciplinary trial, collaborating with over 50 clinicians and researchers at 13 sites.

You are also interested in Quality Improvement, aren't you?

Yes. In 1999, Quality Improvement (QI) became widely recognized when the Institute of Medicine in the US released a report, "To Err is Human", which claimed that, every year in the US, between 44,000 and 98,000 patients die in hospital from preventable medical errors, which is the equivalent of one jumbo jet crashing every day.

In 2001, the Institute of Medicine released its report "Crossing the Quality Chasm", which identifies six Domains of Quality.  The six domains are: providing patient care which is Safe, Effective, Patient-centred, Timely, Efficient and Equitable.

In 2010, Ontario's Ministry of Health and Longterm Care passed the Excellent Care for All Act, which stipulates that every hospital must publicly release an annual Quality Improvement Plan.  QI is now a recognized academic career track, with QI research being published in the highest profile journals in the world.

When did you become interested in Quality Improvement?

My interest began about seven years ago, when I started teaching QI to the PGY4s.  Because the residents' training involves many sites and supervisors, I find the residents have a unique opportunity to identify problems.  It is very rewarding to see them make a change that leads to improved patient care and safety.

What are the goals of the Quality Improvement Committee?

Under the leadership of Dr. Alan Berger, our QI Committee will help the Department develop a new group of academic teachers  who are skilled in implementing  and evaluating improvement.  With Dr. Nancy Epstein as Co-Chair, we are bringing in guest speakers with special expertise in QI for Department-wide rounds,  and to conduct co-curricular workshops for residents and faculty who are interested in learning more about this new area of research.  We expect these educational activities will lead to more QI projects and publications within the department, which will translate into improved patient care and safety.
 

Congratulations to Dr. Neeru Gupta who is recently appointed Glaucoma Section Editor of Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology (CJO). Also, Dr. Gupta has been cross-appointed to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Congratulations to Dr. Wai-Ching Lam who is the recipient and mentor of three consecutive years of Fellowship Awards from Bayer’s GLOBAL OPHTHALMOLOGY AWARD PROGRAMME.

GOAP 2015 – Dr. Abhishek Sharma “Scleral transillumination compared with ultrasound biomicroscopy: An analysis of surface landmarks for safe sclerostomy in young children”  ($43,905)
 
GOAP 2014 – Dr. Jonathan Park  “Is a specific defensing gene profile associated with endophthalmitis following a variety of intraocular procedures”  ($ 35,295)
 
GOAP 2013 – Dr. Pear Pongsachareonnont “Neovascular AMD: Intraocular and plasma inflammatory cytokines in the non responder to ranibizumab treatment”  ($49,150)