December 2020

This monthly E-News newsletter shares provincial program information and updates about the Facility Engagement (FE) initiative. As this information will be of interest to MSA support teams, please feel free to forward the newsletter to MSA executives and heath authority (HA) partners. 

New Project Manager Helpdesk

A new provincial PM help desk is now available to project managers. The help desk provides hands-on support to upskill support teams and provides granular troubleshooting advice on best practices to administrate MSAs. 

As a peer who understands the work, Erica Kjekstad, the South Island Physician Society project manager, will provide support to PMs and MSA administrators through the help desk.

Areas of support include:

• Subject matter expertise on day-to-day administrative issues such as budgeting, engagement activity evaluation, and financial tools.
• Implementation of key initiatives, management of ongoing operations, and alignment of processes, where possible.
• FEMS, SRRP, SEAT, and standardized business practices.
• Standardization of AGM activities. 
• Standardization and upskilling of accounting and budget management business activities.

The following is out-of-scope for the PM help desk:

• FEMS support for complex issues; for this, continue to contact femssupport@doctorsofbc.ca.  
• SEAT/SRRP technical or complex concerns; for this, continue to contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca or seatsupport@doctorsofbc.ca. 

If you would like to request services from the PM help desk, contact your Engagement Partner.

FE Financial Reporting Deadline 

ACTION: Submit your financials by the next financial reporting deadline: January 30, 2021.

MSA physician societies are required to reconcile their financials quarterly to ensure accurate financial reporting and budgeting. This also provides the FE program with accurate information on program spending. 

FE requests that all physician societies provide the following documents to engagement@doctorsofbc.ca within 30-days of the end of each quarter.

1. Balance Sheet, and
2. Income Statement from your accounting software.*  

*If you are using QuickBooks, the external financial system report is called the Profit and Loss Report and for Sage users it is called the Balanced Income Statement.

Please send the above documents to engagement@doctorsofbc.ca no later than January 30, 2021. For additional reconciliation support, please refer to the Facility Engagement website.

If you are unable to meet the deadline or require further support, contact your Engagement Partner.

Funding Guidelines Updates

As part of our continuing efforts to develop effective governance and prudent management of the policy of Facility Engagement and to enable Medical Staff Associations through clear funding guidelines FE has developed amendments to the existing guidelines.  The key highlights of these guidelines for physicians and project managers to be aware of are:

• Updated guidelines for physician training designed to enhance clarity and consistent application across MSAs and ensure appropriate funding sources for CME are considered prior to MSAs pursuing education and training for physicians
• Enhanced guidelines for locum accommodation
• Increased clarity on the use of FE funds for residents and medical students
• Enhanced clarity for physicians with medical leadership contracts with their respective Health Authorities and physicians with APP contracts for clinical services within their facility
• Increased clarity on appropriate source of funding for overhead costs for clinical services
• Capital project revision to include gym equipment
• Updated guidance for wellness activities

Medical Staff Associations should ensure that their current and ongoing engagement activities are aligned with these updated guidelines. Please contact your Engagement Partner to seek advice on how to effectively manage these changes.

Here is a link to the guidelines on our website.

Knowledge Sharing Webinar

To support knowledge sharing opportunities, the FE team will be organizing peer-to-peer webinars in the new year on identified topics  of interest to MSAs. 

Webinars will have physician speakers who have been involved in a successful activity/project (or an unsuccessful one with learnings to share) on one of the following topics:

• Incorporating evaluation methods. This does not need to be an outcome-based evaluation. It can include an example of an activity or process that had a system in place to capture the impact, an improvement, a lesson learned, views, or perspectives that were previously unknown to the broader physician/MSA audience, etc.

• HA/Physician engagement. This includes establishing processes for communication and consultation, building relationships, and enabling HA/physician priority sharing.

If you have a physician leader to recommend to speak in a short webinar, submit their names and activity topics to engagement@doctorsofbc.ca by December 15.

Physician Health Program Services

The Physician Health Program (PHP) is here to help physicians, trainees and their families

 PHP offers confidential support, referrals and counselling on a wide range of issues, including mental health, relationship stress, substance use, career and life transitions, financial issues, peer support, workplace relationships and concern for colleagues. If physicians would like to access this service, please call PHP’s 24/7 confidential helpline at 1800-663-6729. For more information about the services PHP offers, visit www.physicianhealth.com.

Drop-in and connect: Physician Peer Support Sessions

During this challenging time, physicians are working hard to care for patients, their families and communities. The burden of this responsibility is taking its toll with increased stress, anxiety and risk of burnout. Talking to other physicians can help. The Physician Health Program is offering free drop-in Physician Peer Support Sessions via Zoom led by Psychiatrist Dr Jennifer Russel, and Registered Clinical Counsellor Roxanne Joyce. These sessions are facilitated on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month at 12-1pm PST. Email peersupport@physicianhealth.com to join.

Now available: SRRP Webinar Recording

The SRRP Webinar held on Wednesday November 18, 2020 is now posted on the FE website.

If you have any questions, contact your Engagement Partner.

Information for MSAs on new JCC rates

A recent message to MSAs and others outlines a change in compensation rates for doctors participating in Joint Collaborative Committee (JCC) work. Here is some additional information for MSAs, in response to questions heard so far.

• The new JCC rate applies to all local, regional, and provincial collaborative committee work whether through a Medical Staff Association, division of family practice, or provincial working group of a JCC. This includes the General Practice Services Committee, Shared Care Committee, Specialist Services Committee, and Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues.
• The new rates apply only to work funded through the JCCs. The health authorities are not obligated or expected to compensate doctors at the new rate.
• Paying family doctors and specialists equally for planning and quality improvement work funded through the JCCs is a suggestion that was brought forward to the joint committees from the GPSC at the request of the divisions.

For additional questions or comments please contact engagement@doctorsofbc.ca.  

COVID Reimbursement Reminder

Just a reminder that claims for Fall/Winter COVID reimbursement under the Ministry’s 20 hour reimbursement plan should not be paid by the MSAs out of their own funding. We are expecting the FEMS developer to have a custom engagement activity ready by December 18 to record the claims for reimbursement.  

In the meantime, keeping track of physician hours can be done using a spreadsheet or, if you wish, by creating an engagement activity for the purpose of keeping track of claims. However, once the custom engagement activity is ready, all claims will need to be input into the new activity. Claims in a temporary activity must not be approved or paid.

The custom activity is being designed to limit the number of hours to 20 hours per physician and will also use the MOH sessional rates for GP’s and Specialists rather than the JCC approved rate in FEMS. If physicians are reimbursed at the FEMS rate, adjustments will be required after receiving reimbursement from the Ministry. It will be the responsibility of the MSA to claw back excess payments made to GP’s and to top up payments made to specialists. As a result, we strongly recommend avoiding having to make adjustments by ensuring claims are not paid until approved and paid by the Ministry in Spring 2021.

If you require additional information, please contact your engagement partner.

Doctors of BC Holiday Office Closure

Doctors of BC offices will be closed from Thursday, December 24 to Friday, January 1, inclusive. Regular office hours will resume on Monday, January 4, 2021.

Best wishes for a safe and healthy holiday season and a happy new year!

Provincial Communications

On the Facility Engagement website, MSAs can now access provincial communications, including past issues of the E-News monthly newsletter and meeting summaries from the SSC Facility Engagement Working Group.

Did you know...?  In Germany, Poland, and Ukraine, finding a spider or a spider’s web on a Christmas tree is believed to be a harbinger of good luck.

Do you have ideas on future e-news topics?

Please let us know at engagement@doctorsofbc.ca 

engagement@doctorsofbc.ca I www.facilityengagement.ca 

Facility Engagement is an initiative of the Specialist Services Committee, one of four joint collaborative committees that represent a partnership of the Government of BC and Doctors of BC.

Want to learn what’s happening in your community?

Check out the Divisions Dispatch, an e-newsletter published by the Divisions of Family Practice initiative which is funded by the General Practice Services Committee.