June 12, 2018
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Clarification:
PCN EOI second intake date
As highlighted in the previous edition of Divisions
Dispatch, the second intake for PCN EOI submissions will be September
17, 2018. This will be the final intake for the current fiscal year
(i.e., to March 31, 2019) and will include up to 20 CSCs, depending on
Ministry and GPSC capacity to provide adequate support. Future intakes
for PCN EOI submissions will occur in the next fiscal year (post-April
2019). Specific dates to be confirmed
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Government
announcements re: primary care and PCNs
The Ministry of Health has recently made a series of media
announcements about its primary health care strategy that feature its
plans for establishing primary care networks (PCNs) across the
province:
Doctors of BC is working with Ministry partners to learn
more about the government’s plans and what they mean for doctors. The
provincial office will share what is learned when this information is
available.
The GPSC continues to support family doctors and divisions in their
work to inform and influence design of PCNs across BC.
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Key areas
of work
Below is a brief update on three key areas of work related
to patient medical homes and primary care networks.
Funding
Thirty-four divisions have received one-time PMH network development
funds.
Team-based care
The provincial team is developing a set of team-based care resources
that will be made available online to support practices and divisions.
These resources are anticipated to be available by autumn. The
team is also developing a background document about understanding
medical legal liability in team-based care environments, and that
document will be distributed widely when finalized.
In-practice
resources
As of May 2018, 869 PMH Practice Assessments were sent electronically
to physicians, of which 775 were completed. As well more than 3,300
patients have shared their perspectives on their visits to a GP's
practice through the GPSC’s Patient Experience Tool. Currently, the
tool is being piloted by 25 clinics by 72 physicians, 10 nurse
practitioners, one registered nurse and 42 MOAs.
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GPSC meeting
summary: May
Topics covered in the May
GPSC meeting summary include:
- Primary care network
expression of interest: second intake date
- Incentive Program: PMH
management incentive
- Governance of primary
care networks and patient medical homes
- Feedback from the
profession
- Community Health Centres
- Primary care networks in
Manitoba
- Provincial surgical
strategy
- Common Program Agreement
The next GPSC meeting is scheduled for July 13.
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New fees,
updated guidelines support treatment of opioid use disorder
As of June 1, 2018, two new fees to compensate physicians
for treatment of patients with opioid use disorder came into effect:
13013 (Assessment for Induction of Opioid Agonist Treatment
(OAT) for Opioid Use Disorder) is a new time-based fee to compensate physicians
for the time it takes to do a full initial assessment (including complete
medical and substance use history). Click
here for more information.
13014 (Management of OAT Induction for Opioid Use Disorder)
compensates physicians for individual interactions with the patient
during the first three days of OAT induction for opioid use disorder. Click
here for more information.
Changes have also been made to 00039 (Management of
Maintenance OAT for Opioid Use Disorder) to better reflect current
practice. Click
here for more information.
There is also a
new GPAC guideline for diagnosis and management of opioid use
disorder in primary care.
Additional resources are also available on the BC
Centre for Substance Use website
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Summer GPSC
newsletter now online
The summer 2018 issue of the quarterly GPSC newsletter--GP
Update--is now online. This issue features articles on:
- “Skills, not only pills:”
Nova Scotia adopts Practice Support Program adult mental health
module
- Working with nurses in
practices
- Team-based approach helps
new physician settle in Keremeos
Click
here to read these articles and more about GPSC programs, developments,
and achievements.
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New webinar
series to support cross-divisional learning
The provincial office is launching a webinar learning series
for division physician leads and staff. The webinars will provide
opportunities for division representatives to learn from each other
through discussion of their work, experiences, and knowledge on topics
and themes relevant to them.
Provincial staff will host and coordinate the webinars, but the aim is
for division representatives to lead these sessions, which will be on
topics/themes proposed by divisions or provincial staff, who through
working with divisions, have learned are of interest.
Divisions who have suggestions for webinar topics or themes can contact
the provincial team and indicate if they’re interested in sharing their
experiences or learning more from others.
The first webinar, Primary
Care Awakens - Blue Sky Clinic Model, will be on Thursday
June 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30p.m. Click
here to register.
For suggestions, questions, and more information, contact divisions@doctorsofbc.ca.
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Health Data
Coalition: Call for nominations to the Board of Directors and annual
general meeting
The Health Data Coalition (HDC) is calling for nominations
for its Board of Directors. The deadline for nominations is on or before
midnight on June 17, 2018.
The HDC is committed to ensuring province-wide
representation in its membership. While many divisions have appointed a
physician to serve as their representative, the HDC works to ensure that
each division has ample opportunity to designate their representative and
time to recruit a slate of nominees for the Board elections. To
accommodate these needs, the HDC has rescheduled its virtual annual
general meeting (AGM) to September 27 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Click
here to view a complete overview and to apply.
For questions about the Board elections or AGM, contact Kathryn Dafos or Kate Fagan Taylor.
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NIRD/Northern
Health videoconferencing project improves access to care in rural
communities
A videoconferencing initiative started by Northern Interior
Rural doctors is improving access to care for patients in northern BC.
The Robson Valley Virtual Medicine project—a collaboration between the
Northern Interior Rural division (NIRD) and Northern Health—uses
videoconferencing technology to connect two rural neighboring emergency
departments, enabling physicians who share on-call duties to see patients
immediately without needing to travel between hospitals.
The success of the pilot project has resulted in the division receiving
further GPSC funding to upscale the work. This additional funding will be
used to improve patient access to patient medical homes and primary care
networks through telehealth technology. Physicians are envisioning other
innovative applications for the technology as well, including training
students, doctors, and IMGs in the Practice Ready Assessment program.
Click
here to learn more.
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Doctors of BC
Health Authority Engagement Survey
All Doctors of BC members – not only those who work in a
hospital – are encouraged to complete the current Health Authority
Engagement survey to provide feedback on their level of engagement with
their local health authority. The feedback will help the Association
shape programs and policies to improve physician engagement with health
authorities and will be used by the Joint Collaborative Committees (JCCs)
to inform their work. It will also help Doctors of BC better advocate for
its members, not only with health authorities, but more broadly in their
communities.
For the first time, the survey now provides a divisions breakdown to shed
light on trends by community and by each division. Please note that due
to a technical error, certain divisions do not appear in the list.
Those affected can choose the “Other, please specify” option, then enter
their division name.
Doctors of BC sent eligible participants an email invitation on May 24th,
and a subsequent reminder on June 1st, which includes a survey link. The
anonymous and confidential survey takes maximum five minutes to complete.
The deadline for
responses is midnight on Thursday, June 21, 2018, and
participants can enter a draw to win one of two iPad Pros or Surface
Pros.
For any questions or for the survey link, please contact surveys@doctorsofbc.ca.
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Vancouver
Division’s Dropbox Clinical Tools now on Pathways
The Vancouver Division of Family Practice has transitioned
its Clinical Dropbox Tools to Pathways.
Over the past year, the Vancouver division DropBox editorial board has
worked with the Provincial Pathways Resource Committee to add or update
over 500 of their latest and most useful physician and patient resources.
Members of all divisions can access these tools in the Resources section
of Pathways.
Please note that the clinical tools will no longer be available on
DropBox at the end of September. For access to Pathways, physicians can
contact their local division.
For more information, contact the Vancouver Division at vancouver@divisionsbc.ca or
call 604 569-2010 for more information.
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BC Centre for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS offers free webinar for primary care providers
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is hosting a free
webinar for primary care providers on Wednesday June 27th, 2018, from
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Speakers Dr Julio Montaner and Yaz Shariff will present
the session ARV Based Chemoprophylaxis to Reduce HIV Transmission in
British Columbia: the Science and Community Perspectives.
The webinar is part of the Centre’s quarterly HIV/AIDS webinar learning
series and is eligible for 1.0 Mainpro+ Certified Credit (College of
Family Physicians of Canada).
Click
here to register.
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