Members

Patrick Archambault obtained his medical degree from Université Laval in 2000. He completed post-graduate training to become a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as an emergency medicine specialist at Université Laval in 2005. As recipient of the dean’s McLaughlin Fellowship bursary, he completed a two year subspecialization in critical care medicine at the University of Ottawa and obtained the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada certification in December 2007. He also completed in November 2007 a master’s degree in clinical research (emergency medicine) from Université Laval. Dr Archambault was awarded a Canadian Health Services Research Foundation CADRE postdoctoral fellowship scholarship in 2008.

Since 2008, Patrick Archambault works as an emergency and critical care physician and as a clinician-researcher at the CISSS Chaudière-Appalaches (Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis). In 2012, he obtained the FRQS Clinical Research Scholar Junior 1 Award. In June 2016, he was awarded the CIHR Embedded Clinician-Researcher Salary Award. In May 2017, he obtained a project grant from the CIHR for four years and a funding from the Département de médecine familiale et de médecine d’urgence at Université Laval.

Overview

The objective of Dr Patrick Archambault’s research program is to evaluate the impact of a wiki used as a knowledge translation tool on the quality of healthcare in the emergency department and intensive care unit. He is currently undertaking different projects which integrate this innovative technology based upon the sharing and open access of information. His projects explore the use of a wiki to improve healthcare of different populations, notably elderly people, people facing decisions about end-of-life care and victims of mild traumatic brain injury.

Research focused on traumatic brain injury

Certain procedures used to help diagnose trauma injuries are often used inappropriately. A computed tomography (CT) head scan is an important diagnostic test used to help determine if a patient has a brain injury. However, CT scans also expose patients to ionizing radiation which increases the risk of the patient developing cancer during his or her lifetime. Therefore, it is important that patients who do not show signs or symptoms of serious injuries do not receive CT scans. In Canada, many patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) receive unnecessary head CT scans. One reason why CT scans are overused is that patients ask for the scans. However, patients and doctors make better decisions about the patient’s’ health when they share decision making. Patient decision aids are paper or Internet-based tools that help patients become involved in decision making about their health care. Patient decision aids clearly explain the health care decision that needs to be made, provide information about the options and outcomes, and by help patients express their personal values. There exist two American patient decision aids to help adults with mTBI and parents of children with mTBI to decide if they want CT scans. However, there are no Canadian patient decision aids on the same subject. The objective of Dr Archambault’s research program aims to adapt these American decision aids to meet the needs of Quebec patients and healthcare professionals, using a method called rapid prototyping based in a wiki (a website which several people can access and modify at the same time). He will develop training for healthcare professionals to learn how to use these decision aids. Finally, he will put into place the new decision aids with training in three emergency departments in Québec. He will measure to see if this process improves the proper use of head CTs for mTBI patients.

Co-investigators and collaborators

Janet Curran, Isabelle Gagnon, Marie-Pierre Gagnon, Jocelyn Gravel, Rob Green, Erik Hess, Eddy Lang, Annie Leblanc, France Légaré, Natalie Le Sage, Carrie Anna McGinn, Ted Melnick, Marie-Christine Ouellet, Ariane Plaisance, Patrick Plante, Louise Sauvé, Catherine Truchon, Tom van de Belt, Holly Witteman, Roger Zemek, , Nathalie Le Sage

Funding

Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR)
Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS)
Canadian Traumatic Brain Injury Research Consortium (CTRC)