The Physician Practice Improvement Program (PPIP) is structured around a continuous improvement cycle that guides physicians through three key activities.
- Practice-Driven Quality Improvement
- Standard of Practice Quality Improvement
- Personal Development
While each activity shares the common goal of enhancing professional practice, they differ in their focus and approach. Open the accordion boxes below to learn more.
Similarities in the 3 PPIP Activities
- Data-informed Approach: All three activities rely on gathering and analyzing data to identify areas for improvement.
- SMART Goals: Each activity requires the setting of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely) goals to ensure clear and attainable objectives.
- Action Plans: Developing and documenting action plans is a crucial step in each activity, outlining the steps needed to achieve the set goals.
- Reflection and Review: All activities emphasize the importance of reflecting on outcomes and reviewing progress to inform future actions.
Differences between the 3 PPIP Activities
| Activity | Focus | Data Source | Objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice-Driven QI Activity | Targets specific areas within your practice that can benefit from quality improvement. | Data is drawn from your practice, such as patient records, scheduling, or prescribing patterns. | Improve operational efficiency and patient care based on practice-specific data. |
| CPSA Standards of Practice QI Activity | Ensures adherence to the standards set by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA). | Data comes from evaluating your practice’s compliance with CPSA standards. | Address compliance gaps and enhance practice standards to meet regulatory requirements. |
| Personal Development Activity | Aimed at fostering personal growth and professional development. | Utilizes feedback from peers, patients, or structured assessments. | Enhance competencies beyond clinical expertise, such as communication, leadership, and self-care. |
Get an overview of PPIP from your physician colleague.
The importance of data in PPIP activities
In the Physician Practice Improvement Program (PPIP), data plays a crucial role in identifying opportunities for improvement and measuring progress. Understanding what qualifies as data for each of the three PPIP activities is essential for effective participation. This is table summarizes what the CPSA has provided as examples of data for the PPIP program.
Difference between PPIP and traditional CME programs
- Unlike CPD, which focuses on a broad range of educational activities, PPIP requires you to reflect on data from your medical practice.Â
- Additionally, PPIP necessitates creating and executing a plan for measurable change, making it a proactive and personalized form of professional development​
This approach ensures that changes are directly relevant to the practitioner’s own practice.Â
Thinking about data sources for your PPIP activities
Examples of data for the 3 PPIP Activities
| PPIP Activity | Potential Data Sources | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice-Driven QI Activity | - Patient Chart Reviews - EMR Data - Connect Care Dashboards/Reports - Patient Feedback and Satisfaction Surveys - MD Snapshot Prescribing - HQCA Panel Reports | Identify practice-specific gaps or inefficiencies and implement targeted improvements. | |
| CPSA Standards of Practice QI Activity | - CPSA Standards of Practice (SOP) Metrics Questionnaire - Self-assessment of adherence to relevant SOPs - CPSA Group Practice Review | Ensure your practice meets regulatory standards and identify areas for enhancing compliance. | |
| Personal Development Activity | - Structured self-assessment - Learner feedback data - Wellness assessment, e.g. Fatigue, Burnout - Multi-source feedback, e.g. MCC 360 | Support personal growth and professional development beyond clinical expertise. | |
How do the SUPPORT for PPIP Self-Reflection Tools help you generate data for all 3 of your PPIP activities?
Built-in online self-reported questionnaires
This course specifically provides you with a tool to generate an aggregate report of your results from questionnaires designed based on the CPSA’s standards of practice. While participants are welcome to pursue other sources of data for their quality improvement activities, it is important to note that this course currently supports only this form of data generation. Our tool simplifies the process by ensuring that the data you collect is aligned with the regulatory standards, helping you easily identify areas for improvement and track your progress effectively.
Self-Reflection Tool for Data-informed QI
Once you have completed your self-reported questionnaires, you will be guided to the self-reflection tool for data-informed QI. Here, you can visualize and gain insights into your practice. By using graphs and data sourced from your patient panel, these tools allow you to analyze trends, identify areas for improvement, and make evidence-based decisions.
Self-Reflection Tool for Personal Development
In collaboration with the Centre of Sleep and Human Performance, this course provides you with the Sleep-Debt Calculator and the Sleep-Efficiency Calculator. Here, you will have the opportunity to reflect upon your own sleep habits and history, which will be presented in graphs.
Data sources in the SUPPORT for PPIP program
| PPIP Activity | Data Source in SUPPORT for PPIP program | Purpose | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice-Driven QI Activity | Aggregate reports of your results from questionnaire style checklists based on CPSA's Standards of Practice | Identify practice-specific gaps or inefficiencies and implement targeted improvements. | ||
| CPSA Standards of Practice QI Activity | Aggregate reports of your results from questionnaire style checklists based on CPSA's Standards of Practice | Discover areas for enhancing compliance and meet your Standards of Practice. | ||
| Personal Development Activity | Self-Assessment Tool for Sleep and Fatigue (coming soon) | Support your self-care needs and work towards your personal growth beyond clinical expertise. | ||
The SUPPORT for PPIP program is designed to guide you through all aspects of your PPIP requirements.
- We recommend you engage actively with the content in the online modules, utilize all the tools and resources provided to you, and attend the webinars.
- This user guide module has topics that will give you overall understanding of CPSA’s PPIP requirements and what you need to get started with your PPIP activities. Proceed by clicking on the first topic in Topics menu below.
Packages & Pricing
In order to have full access to the course, you must pay for the Support for PPIP.
The SUPPORT for PPIP program offers flexible pricing options that address each of the 3 activities in CPSA’s PPIP program. Get the package you need and take advantage of our special introductory pricing that is available for a limited time only until Mar 31, 2025.
Note: On the checkout page, you must enter the email exactly as associated with your account. Any mistakes may lead to a delay in gaining access to your course. You are currently logged in with the following email address:
SUPPORT for PPIP Complete
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Complete all 3 PPIP activities
Data-informed QI
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Complete 2 PPIP activities
Personal Development
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Complete 1 PPIP Activity
| Feature | SUPPORT for PPIP Complete | Data-informed QI | Personal Development | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-year access to your content, data, action plans and ongoing webinars | ||||
| Generate your practice data for Standards of Practice and Practice-driven QI activities | - | |||
| Generate your self-care data for personal development activity | - | |||
| Be equipped with documentation and evidence for a potential PPIP audit | For 2 activities only | For 1 activity only | ||
| Earn CME credit hours | 15 Hours You may claim credits only for the amount of time spent on the activity. This one-credit-per-hour Self-Learning program meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by the University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development for up to 15 Mainpro+ credits. This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program (Section 3) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development. You may claim a maximum of 15 hours (credits are automatically calculated). Â | 10 Hours You may claim credits only for the amount of time spent on the activity. This one-credit-per-hour Self-Learning program meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by the University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development for up to 15 Mainpro+ credits. This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program (Section 3) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development. You may claim a maximum of 15 hours (credits are automatically calculated). | 5 Hours You may claim credits only for the amount of time spent on the activity. This one-credit-per-hour Self-Learning program meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by the University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development for up to 15 Mainpro+ credits. This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program (Section 3) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development. You may claim a maximum of 15 hours (credits are automatically calculated). | |