Researchers used EMR data from April 2022 to March 2023 to examine prescribing variation for psychotropic and non-psychotropic drugs across nursing home units, homes, and organizations in Ontario. The study found that prescribing variation extends beyond antipsychotics, and that unit-level data can show additional unexplained variations not captured in home-level studies, providing new targets for research and quality improvement.

This article introduces the structure and functionality of the OnSPARK platform, describes its unique approach to staffing data collection and use, and outlines its potential to generate operational, clinical, and policy-relevant insights, supporting a learning health system model that strengthens decision-making.

Long-term care in Canada faces persistent challenges in evidence-based resident assessment, and the potential of InterRAI assessment instrument that measures this has been limited by delayed access, facility-level aggregation, and lack of integration with workforce and operational data. OnSPARK addresses this gap by integrating de-identified interRAI assessments, electronic health records, and staffing data to advance unit-level reporting, workforce-outcome linkages, artificial intelligence-enabled tools, and collaboratives such as the Seniors Quality Leap Initiative.