Developing recommendations and actions for integrated services delivery through primary health care teams in Canada: a deliberative dialogue approach for a national knowledge translation event.

Primary health care teams are a key strategy in providing integrated care, particularly for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Despite a strong commitment to improving primary health care through team-based care globally, challenges to its implementation remain. A comparative policy analysis was conducted in four Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec) to examine the policies and structures supporting service integration for patients with two or more chronic conditions through primary health care teams. Results are reported on Phase 3 of the project, including a national knowledge translation event to refine recommendations and develop actions for implementing recommendations related to team-based primary health care in policy and practice. Our virtual knowledge translation event took place in June 2022; with 25 participants including policymakers, decision-makers, providers, patients and researchers. Eight key recommendations were discussed and revised with feedback and strategies for implementation developed. Five themes were identified from the discussions: 1) composition of the team and access; 2) communication and electronic health records; 3) remuneration; 4) patient engagement; and performance measurement. Recommendations for policy and practice are outlined and compared to existing Canadian and international literature.