The People of Primary Care
Exploring Quality Improvement with Catherine Bougram
In recognition of Healthcare Quality Week we’d like to introduce some of Hamilton Family Health Team’s Quality Improvement Team!
Please Introduce Yourself
I’m Catherine Bougram, Data Quality Coordinator
What Do You Do?
As a Data Quality Coordinator, I support the HFHT with data quality, reporting, and performance measurement. I support data analysis and reporting for Schedule A and QIP, coordinate reporting for Ontario Health PCAT, track internal metrics, and develop dashboards to support the Groups & Workshops and Physio teams.
What Brought You To This Profession?
I started out as a PSW in long-term care. Working directly with patients showed me how every piece of data represents a real person’s story, but it also made me realize how much better care can be when systems and information run smoothly. That experience inspired me to earn a degree in Health Information Science and move through change management into quality improvement. Today, it’s about understanding the people behind the numbers and using data to improve how care is delivered. For me, it’s deeply fulfilling to know that the work I do behind the scenes helps our primary care team run smoother and helps more people in our community connect to the care they need.
Why Primary Care?
I actually got my start here as a student, so I already knew how great the culture was and how much I loved the team. I just really clicked with everyone. So when this role came up, it was a pretty easy choice: getting to come back to a team I already knew and loved, while diving into the exact kind of data work I wanted to do.
What Brings You Joy in this Role?
For me, the joy comes from digging in to understand the work that is actually being done—the bottlenecks, the successes, and everything in between. I know how frustrating it is when systems get in the way and when work isn’t being reflected accurately.
So when I can build a dashboard in Excel or Power BI that suddenly makes things click, or when our reporting helps the teams run just a little bit smoother, that’s what energizes me. Knowing that my work behind the scenes takes the weight off our teams.
Where can we find you when you’re not in the office?
Off the clock, my happy place is pretty simple: movie marathons, matcha runs, shopping trips, baking something sweet, and quality time with family, including my dog, Storm.
Quality improvement is about more than processes and outcomes — it’s about people, teamwork, and finding ways to make things better for our patients. Thank you Catherine and the rest of the Q.I. team!