No Images? Click here Thompson Focus September 14, 2017Question of the Quarter: We want to hear from you!Join us for the 7th AGM and Social (Bring the family!)You're invited to our AGM on Monday, September 18 at the Kamloops Art Gallery. Join your colleagues and their families at our fall social and Annual General Meeting. We'll eat dinner together and hold our AGM while the kids are entertained. Partners are welcome to attend the meeting or socialize. We'll wrap up the evening with a chance to just chat with your colleagues. Dinner and refreshments will be provided. Click here to register today!
Get to Know Your Allied Health Neighbours!Did you know that there are more than 50 Registered Massage Therapists in Kamloops? What about the fact that there are more than 30 professions considered to be allied health in the Thompson Region? The Division is excited to announce an upcoming event that will bring together physicians, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals for an evening of good food, local wine and beer, and plenty of networking opportunities. The event will be held at Terra Restaurant (326 Victoria St, Kamloops) on September 27th from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Bring a colleague and drop in at your convenience. Help us promote the event by sharing this information with your allied health and family physician colleagues. Contact Maren Luciani if you would like a poster for your clinic or if you want more information. Are you interested in joining us? Help us get an idea of how many people will attend. Thank you for your assistance with widlfire reliefA huge thank you to everyone who helped out with the Sandman clinic due to the wildfire situation. Dr. Janet Bates volunteered her time and said, "It was very rewarding to have an opportunity to contribute to the wildfire evacuee situation in Kamloops. Great to have been able to participate." In addition to Dr. Bates, Thompson Region physicians Drs. Miranda du Preez, Peter Gorman, Ruth Farren, Selena Lawrie, Boris Gimbarzevsky, and Shirley van der Merwe played an essential role at the clinic along with Drs. Livit Machete, Helen Imolele, Andrew Juren, and Michael Abayomi of 100 Mile House, and Dr. Matande Mafulu of Enderby. GPSC Incentive Changes - Effective October 1, 2017The GPSC is changing some of its incentives to simplify and align fees, enable team-based care, and transition some fees initially connected to the time-limited A GP for Me initiative. The GPSC is also streamlining conferencing fees. All information on fee changes is available on the GPSC website. To learn more about these changes and ask questions, you are invited to participate in a free webinar on Wednesday, September 27 from 5:00-6:30 PM. Please note that the Unattached Complex/High-needs Patient Attachment Fee (G14074) will be unavailable as of October 1, 2017. Polypharmacy InvitationBuilding Local Capacity Session for Meaningful Medication Reviews - Two Part Series: October 16 & 23, 2017 Physicians from around BC have identified a need to build capacity of local physicians to tackle polypharmacy risks during medication reviews. A session will be offered to equip physicians with the skills and resources to address Polypharmacy Risk Reduction through the Meaningful medication Review component of the Residential Care Initiative. Register online or view the poster for more information. Did you know HealthLinkBC can help you attach patients?The Division is able to support family physicians looking to expand their practices by providing information about the process for patient attachment from the Kamloops Primary Care Waitlist, managed by HealthLinkBC. If you are interested in learning more about attaching patients from this waitlist, please feel free to connect with Melanie Todd, Project Lead for Patient Attachment. Patient Attachment System UpdateThe Thompson Region Division of Family Practice has closed the Complex Care Patient Registry, as well as the Public Registry for those looking for a family physician. We will no longer be accepting patient attachment referrals. These registries were created as part of the GP for Me provincial initiative. In November 2016, the Kamloops Primary Care Waitlist was created, and is now managed by HealthLinkBC (8-1-1), for people in the Kamloops area who are looking for a primary care provider and do not currently have one. Local area residents can call 8-1-1 to be placed on the list. Please feel free to contact Melanie Todd, Patient Attachment Project Lead, for any further information. Pathways has expandedAs Pathways has now expanded to multiple Divisions across the province, Pathways content is now being viewed by hundreds of users. This is a friendly reminder to our members who have participated in Pathways, to take some time to review their profiles. Maintaining accurate information about your practice can enhance referral quality, and should help patients receive the most timely, precise referral for their needs. Thank you so much for your help maintaining Pathways. Check out the latest Pathways newsletter by clicking the image to the left for more useful tips. Contact Melanie Todd, your Pathways administrator, at thompsonregion@pathwaysbc.ca or call 250-372-1621 if you have any questions or want to sign up. Residential Care Resource ExchangeThe Provincial Divisions Office has collated RCI resources from a number of communities with information to share and added them to their website. Check it out and see if there's something that can help your residential care. Dr. Ian Bekker, a member of the Victoria Division of Family Practice, with the support of the provincial Divisions office, has developed a series of webinars entitled "Residential Care: Supporting Physicians Leading Change," with the goal of improving the care of patients living in residential care by involving physicians in a community of practice. Check them out by clicking the link above. If you have any questions, or would like to register for the GPSC Residential Care Initiative incentive, please contact Laura Becotte at 250-372-1621 or lbecotte@divisionsbc.ca. Interior Health and Community Partner UpdatesRIHPA and MSA AGM!On September 28, 2017, join the RIH Medical Staff Association and Royal Inland Hospital Physician Association for their Annual General Meeting. Click the image to the right for more details. If you wish to nominate an member of the medical staff please complete the nomination form and email to either rihpa@facilityengagement.ca or msmatthew100@gmail.com or place this in a sealed envelope in Dr. Conley's mailbox in lounge. Please come out and enjoy some very fabulous food to see the good work your Medical Executive and RIHPA Working Group have been working on! Opening Soon: Sun Peaks Family Practice Medical ClinicSun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality is pleased to announce the opening of their Family Practice Medical Clinic to serve Sun Peaks and the surrounding region. Their estimated opening will be in December 2017 and they have space for two to four family physicians. If you are interested in working at the clinic, or would like more information, please contact the Director of Primary Medical Services at Sun Peaks at 1-778-257-9503 or by email. BC Wildfire Response/ Providing care in a crisis: Division partnerships support doctors and patients during wildfiresThe recent wildfires in BC’s interior caused a state of emergency that resulted in the largest medical evacuation ever undertaken by Interior Health. More than 400 patients were moved from Interior Health facilities in 100 Mile House, Alexis Creek, Ashcroft, and Williams Lake, and 60 physicians were displaced from those communities and the surrounding areas. Throughout the crisis, physicians, health care workers, and health authority staff worked hard to ensure that patients received the best care possible—even as they were evacuated from their own homes and practices. Physicians worked tirelessly to cover their colleagues’ patients and provide temporary clinical space whenever possible. As part of these efforts, the Central Interior Rural, Thompson Region, Central Okanagan, Shuswap North Okanagan, and Prince George Divisions of Family Practice worked with Interior and Northern Health Authorities to coordinate clinic space for use by displaced physicians and additional support to meet the needs of evacuated patients. The hard work of physicians, divisions, health authorities, and health care workers during the wildfire crisis was recognized and lauded in a President’s Letter by Doctors of BC President Dr Trina Larsen Soles on July 18, and in tweets from Dr Shelley Ross and Doctors of BC. Any division members who are looking for emotional support following the wildfires can call the Physician Health Program, a 24-hour confidential physician support program, at 1 800 663-6279. Rapid Access to Psychiatry Program UpdateOn behalf of Dr. Buller, please note that all referrals to the Rapid Access to Psychiatry Program will be initially reviewed, screened, and seen by an intake clinician before consideration for a psychiatric consultation, effective immediately due to the escalating pace of new referrals. The referral process and forms have been adjusted in order to prioritize the referrals that are most appropriate for the Rapid Access Program. Please read the letter from Dr. Buller and review the referral form for more information. The BC Emergency Medicine Network will launch on September 12, 2017. It is a new provincial initiative connecting physicians who care for patients in emergency settings in BC. Their website is a free online tool where practitioners can access, share, and comment on clinical resources: short procedural videos, two-page clinical summaries, patient information sheets in multiple languages and more. There is also a calendar of CPD courses and conferences. Check out their website for more. Interpreting Services in Family Practices - Pilot ProjectThe Ministry of Health and Provincial Health Services Authority will be conducting a pilot project to learn more about the need for and use of interpreting services in BC family practices. Starting October 1, 2017, for up to one year, the pilot will provide family practices across the province with access to telephone interpreting services at no cost to them. Communicating with patients using a professional interpreter can improve safety and quality by reducing errors and improving comprehension, clinical outcomes, and satisfaction with care. Family physicians and other health care professionals on the practice team will require a code to access the service. Learn more on the Provincial Language Services website. STOP HIV EvaluationIHA wants to hear from you! In 2013/14, Interior Health implemented the STOP HIV and Health Outreach Nursing program across the region. As part of this program, IH spent some time engaging with physicians, increasing awareness and education regarding HIV care and testing in our communities and for our patients. Now IH needs to hear from you, to learn about your experiences (if any), potential barriers for HIV testing in your practice, and how best to improve the current HIV services to date. Click here to complete a short 5 minute survey. Your time and input is greatly appreciated. Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Update and New ResourcesOn behalf of Dr. Michael Ertel, Vice President, Medicine and Quality, please see the attached memo with an update and new resources regarding Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). The main update is the new online training available for doctors who are potential assessors and prescribers. Perinatal Services BC UpdatePerinatal Services BC is developing a new Perinatal Data Registry and revising a suite of provincial forms. Please contact Lubna Ekramoddoullah if you would like to receive their newsletter or PDR Project Updates emails. Perinatal BC also hosts Tea and Talk Telehealth sessions to share information about their initiatives. Learn more. ResourcesUpcoming Events2017 Annual General Meeting
Building Local Capacity Session for Meaningful Medication Reviews
Allied Health Networking Event
RIHPA/MSA Annual General Meeting
Upcoming CME and Webinar OpportunitiesExtra Reading & Partner PublicationsThompson Region Division of Family Practice |