Save-the-Date: Upcoming Events

1. August 31, 2017 - Call-For-Directors Nominations Due
2. September 20, 2017 - ODFP AGM:  The Beach Club Resort, 6-9pm (Notice of AGM and invitation to follow Sept 5)
3. September 23, 2017 - Dementia‐related Responsive Behaviours: Putting it All Together using P.I.E.C.E.S and the BC BPSD Algorithm (invitation attached) hosted by Nanaimo Division of Family Practice
4. October 4, 2017 - Primary Care Network Open House @ OHC (invitation to follow)
5. October 12, 2017 - L.A.T. Trauma Informed Education CME hosted by PSP (invitation to follow)
6. Late October Date TBA - C.O.P.D. CME hosted by PSP
7. November Dates TBA - Polypharmacy CME 2 Part Series hosted by ODFP

HIV/AIDS Upcoming Events

Forefront Lecture | Using multiple data sources to study health outcomes in a vulnerable population: The Health After Release from Prison (HARP) cohort study  

Tuesday August 29, 2017 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pmLarge Lecture Theatre, Providence Building Level 1, St. Paul's Hospital | REGISTER HERE

HIV/AIDS Webinar Learning Series | HIV/AIDS Webinar Learning Series - Strategies for HIV Prevention: What's New in Post-Exposure Prophylaxis?

Wednesday September 06, 2017 | 8:00 am - 9:00 pm REGISTER HERE

Free Advanced EMR Training - OSCAR

Dear Divisions of Family Practice,

I am pleased to share that there are still spots available in the free advanced EMR training for OSCAR EMR (see attached). For this reason, I am extending the registration deadline.

This training may result in increased diabetic incentive billing benefits for patients. The learnings from this training are also transferable to managing other chronic conditions in OSCAR EMR, such as hypertension and COPD.

If it would be more convenient, I could organize the training session at physicians' clinics over lunch or at another convenient time (the training session would be about 30 minutes in length).

Interested physicians are requested to contact me ASAP. They can send me their study consent form via email or fax (1-844-859-0636).

Thank you!

Gurprit Randhawa
PhD Student, School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria

Autoclave Needed!

The Snaw-Naw-As (Nanoose) first nation's health clinic is looking for a small autoclave.  If any offices are looking to sell (or possibly donate) an extra autoclave, please contact Dr. Sandy Barlow.

Much appreciated,

Sandy Barlow

Dementia-Related Responsive Behaviors CME

We are pleased to invite you to attend an upcoming CME Event, Dementia-related Responsive Behaviours..  This half day workshop is developed specifically for Physicians and will complement other P.I.E.C.E.S. training provided to residential care facilities and/or other allied health professionals. The program includes P.I.E.C.E.S training and utilizing the BC BPSD Algorithm.

P.I.E.C.E.S.™ is a holistic, person and care partner-directed model which enhances capacity at the individual, TEAM, organization and system levels to support the care of the older individual living with complex chronic disease, including neurocognitive disorders and/or other mental health needs, and associated behavioural changes.

Date: Saturday, September 23 2017
Time: 0900 - 1300 hrs. (0830 - 0900 hrs. Registration & Breakfast)
Location: Nanaimo Golf Club - 2800 Highland Blvd., Nanaimo
Please RSVP by September 15, 2017 - khenley@divisionsbc.ca

* Free for Nanaimo Division & NMSES members.   A $50 registration fee applies to all other attendees, must be paid in advance.

Medical Health Officers' Newletter #286

Syphilis Rates Still Rising on Vancouver Island

Syphilis cases continue to climb on Vancouver Island this year, with recent activity focused in the South and Central Island. 80 cases were reported in 2016  on Vancouver Island. We have already had 22 cases in the first 3 months of 2017.

Vancouver Island currently has the 2nd highest syphilis rate among BC health authorities (after Vancouver Coastal). Incidence was 10.2 cases per 100 000 populationn 201 i6 and is projected to be higher in 2017.The majority of infections are occurring in men who have sex with men, and less frequently in women with bisexual male partners.

A significant shift has occurred in HIV co-infection of new cases, as more cases are not HIV positive (about 60% of cases in 2017), and there are increasing cases in younger age groups (15-39 years). There have been some cases of neurosyphilis symptoms occurring in early stages of the disease; HIV co-infection is a risk factor for early neurosyphilis.

Clinical Presentation and Transmission
The classic presentation of syphilis is a painless ulcer (primary stage) or a generalized maculopapular rash and  lymphadenopathy (secondary stage). Left untreated, it may
also progress to tertiary syphilis, where involvement of the major organs may occur (e.g heart, aorta, bones, joints, brain). Neurosyphilis and ocular syphilis can occur in early and late stages of the disease. Meningitis, cranial neuropathies and visual acuity changes can be signs of neurological involvement.

Sexual transmission can occur via oral sex, vaginal and anal intercourse. Infection does not confer immunity. There have been cases of multiple re-infections after treatment in this outbreak.

Testing & Treatment
Syphilis testing is primarily done via serology using enzyme immunoassay as an initial screening test. For suspicious primary lesions, serology should be ordered at the time of presentation as well as 2 weeks later as serology may be negative in early infection.

Syphilis is curable with benzathine penicillin G (Bicillin) given intramuscularly. The dosing regimen is dependent on the stage of infection and may require multiple doses. The BCCDC Syphilis program will provide treatment recommendations for diagnosed cases. Serial serology (q3 months) is typically recommended after treatment to assess response.

Contact Management
ALL contacts of early syphilis should be treated as soon as possible, not contingent on screening results. The screening test may not be positive in early infection or incubation. Contacts of late syphilis cases should be tested and treated based on
BCCDC clinician recommendations. Testing for HIV and other STIs is also recommended for all contacts.

The Island Health Communicable Disease (CD) program is available to assist with contract tracing, patient education, advice on treatment and screening, and referrals to other sexual health services. For some cases and contacts, the BCCDC may directly
contact patients and contacts, and provide treatment and contact recommendations. We would encourage you to contact your local CD hub with any inquires you may have.

Prevention & Screening Recommendations
Consistent condom use, reducing the number of sexual partners, and avoiding sexual activity under the influence of drugs can reduce the risk of syphilis transmission and other STIs. Encourage regular testing for STIs including syphilis and HIV for all sexually active people and anyone who requests testing.
While all sexually active individuals are at risk for syphilis, some populations are atincreas ed risk for syphilis infection and/or increased risk of morbidity due to syphilis.

These are:
- Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM): Recommend STI screening every 3 months
- People living with HIV: Recommend STI screening every 3 months
- People with multiple sex partners: Recommend STI screening every 3 months
- Prenatal patients: Routine STI screening including syphilis in the first trimester is recommended. If there is ongoing risk during pregnancy, repeat testing may be warranted (i.e. third trimester screening and at delivery). All women should have
at least one syphilis test documented during the course of pregnancy or immediately post-partum.

Yours in Health,
Paul Hasselback, MD MSc FRCPC
Medical Health Officer

St Paul's Emergency Medicine Conference

Register for the 15th Annual St. Paul’s Emergency Medicine conference in Whistler Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2017 in beautiful Whistler, British Columbia!

Sep 28-Oct 1 (Thu-Sun), Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler BC

Target audience: emergency physicians, family physicians, rural physicians, residents & students, emergency nurses, paramedics, any others providing emergency care
Up to 18.0 Mainpro+/MOC Section 1

Highlights:

• Timely and clinically relevant updates on Emergency Medicine in both rural and urban centres
• Selection of case-based and hands-on workshops on Saturday – see below
• Pre-conference workshops in Vancouver AND Whistler – EDE1, EDE2, SEMP (Vancouver); CAEP AIME Roadshow, CASTED Emergency, The SHOCK Course (Whistler)
• Conference break each day for activities with family
• Social Events: Sep 28 Welcome Reception, Whistler Conference Centre; Sep 29 Cocktail Reception with the Hairfarmers, Garibaldi Lift Company (GLC)

Register: https://www.eply.com/sphemerg-2017

Accommodation:
Westin Whistler Resort and Spa, 4090 Whistler Way, Whistler  British Columbia  V0N 1B4
http://www.westinwhistler.com
Discount room rates start at $210/night + taxes. Rates do not include parking. Group Code: “St. Paul’s Emergency Medicine”. Group rate available until Aug 28, 2017.

Reservations
PH: 1-866-412-2864
EM: reservations@westinwhistler.com
Online: https://tinyurl.com/sph2017reservations

Pre-Conference Workshop Offerings:

• EDE1 (offered TWICE: Sep 25 OR Sep 26), VANCOUVER – register through edecourse.com
• EDE2 (offered TWICE: Sep 26 OR Sep 27), NORTH VANCOUVER – add your name to the waitlist with your conference registration
• CASTED Emergency, Sep 27 & 28, WHISTLER – register through casted.ca/schedule
• CAEP AIME Roadshow (offered TWICE: Sep 27 OR Sep 28), WHISTLER – register with your conference registration
• SEMP: Simulated Emergency Medicine Procedures, Sep 27, VANCOUVER – register with your conference registration
• The SHOCK Course, Sep 28, WHISTLER – register with your conference registration

Keynote Lectures:
• Annual Literature Review, Grant Innes, University of Calgary
• Trauma, Kenji Inaba, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
• HIV Treatment as Prevention: A Made in BC Strategy to End the AIDS Pandemic, Julio Montaner, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
• It’s A Job That’s Easy to Love/Hate, Robert Orman, St Charles Medical Center, Bend, OR

Family practice access to telephone interpreting services starting October 1, 2017

The 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.

Family physicians and other health care professionals on the practice team will require a code to access the service. We would appreciate your assistance to distribute the access code specific to your division to your members in early September.

We encourage you to promote this pilot with your members as it will inform us of the demand for ongoing access to telephone interpreting service. Communicating with patients using a professional interpreter can improve safety and quality by reducing errors and improving comprehension, clinical outcomes, and satisfaction with care.

Information for family practices will be forthcoming in a number of issues of Divisions Dispatch through August, September, and October. For more information on interpreting services, visit the Provincial Language Services website: http://www.phsa.ca/health-professionals/professional-resources/interpreting-services.

I will be reaching out to each of you to discuss this pilot and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Kind regards,

Joanna Richards
Director, Primary Health Care
Primary Care Access Branch
Ministry of Health
Joanna.Richards@gov.bc.ca
Mobile: 250.588.2832

BC Emergency Medicine Network

We are excited to introduce and share with you the launch of The BC Emergency Medicine Network – a new provincial initiative connecting physicians who care for patients in emergency settings in BC.

The BC Emergency Medicine Network’s website http://www.bcemergencynetwork.ca 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.

The Network will publicly launch September 12, 2017.

We feel the Network will be of value to your members and we would appreciate the opportunity to spread the word to them. I have attached a 2 page handout summarizing the Network. 

Thank you for your time.

Chantel Archibald
Network Support
JPN3300-910 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver BC | V5Z 1M9
604-875-5242

UBC CPD Upcoming Rural Online Programs

The details of upcoming programs are:

Rural Online Journal Clubs 2017-2018
https://ubccpd.ca/courses/journal-clubs
Target audience: family physicians, specialists, nurse practitioners, residents & students
Family Practice Anesthesiology: Sep 5 to Dec 22, 2017
Emergency Medicine: Sep 25 to Dec 17, 2017
Sexual Health Forum: Sep 18, 2017 to May 6, 2018
Up to 12.0 Mainpro+/MOC Section 1
Register: https://ubccpd.ca/courses/journal-clubs

Rural Rounds 2017-2018
https://ubccpd.ca/rural/rounds
Target audience: family physicians, specialists, nurse practitioners, residents & students
Date: 1st Thursday of every month, September 2017 to June 2018
Time: 8:00AM to 9:00AM (PDT)
Location: Your local hospital videoconference or online through WebEx
Registration: Ask your local hospital to register your community. Details online: https://ubccpd.ca/rural/rounds

Please check out the above links for more details or contact Allison Macbeth, UBC CPD Education Coordinator (allison.m@ubc.ca).

Monthly DVD Presentation: Dementia Education Task Team

You're invited to attend the next monthly DVD presentation:
Thursday August 24, 2017 from 2 - 4pm

Facilitated by the Oceanside Dementia Education Task Team (ODETT)
Hosted by: The Gardens at Qualicum Beach
Located at 650 Berwick Rd N, Qualicum Beach, BC

Register at The Gardens by calling 250-752-2818 ext 0 to reserve your seat.  There is no charge for these workshops
These educational sessions are ongoing – the fourth Thursday  of the month.  Each month a different educational DVD is viewed in the Theater Room.  Refreshments provided by The Gardens.

This month we'll watch a the last part of Teepa Snow's "Art of Communication"  and attendee's choice time permitting.

Some Followup to "I'll Be Me" http://goodtimes.ca/glen-campbell-says-adios/

Events In Your community:

MINDS in MOTION is a program for people experiencing early stage memory loss and a care partner. It is a 45 minute fitness class and then 45 minutes of games and activities. For more information, contact Shanan at 250 734 4170 or email: sstlouis@alzheimerbc.org.
Virtual Information:

·       Alzheimer Society of B.C The schedule for the Alzheimer Society of B.C.'s 2017 tele-workshops has now been posted. To view the  tele-workshop information, go to this link:  Tele-workshops
 

·       Vancouver Island Crisis Line - Online Community Resource Database http://www.vicrisis.ca/community-resource-database/  24 hour crisis line 1-888-494-3888

Article on care partnering from Good Times Magazine http://goodtimes.ca/users-guide-caregivers/

Divisions Dispatch

View the latest Divisions Dispatch here

Find the latest news from the provincial team and complementary organizations in this issue of Divisions Dispatch. This newsletter is sent to local division physician leads, executive directors, coordinators, and admin staff; Doctors of BC staff involved in the GPSC and the Divisions of Family Practice initiative; and a number of Ministry of Health and health authority staff. We encourage divisions to share the newsletter, or the relevant items, with their members. 

Inside the August 24, 2017 issue

Read this issue

• Proposed federal tax changes: Doctors of BC advocates for the profession, supports doctors to voice concerns and influence decision-making
• Share your perspectives: Aligning collaborative resources and support
• UpToDate access for transitioning residents changes on September 15, 2017
• Access to telephone interpreting services to support patient care – Ministry of Health/PHSA pilot project starts October 1, 2017
• South Okanagan Similkameen team-based care helps at-risk patients get health and lives on track
• Patient Medical Home engagement journey stories
• Reminder: Ministry of Health continues to seek division input on family physician health human resource (HHR) planning
• Seniors health updates: Seniors Health Summer 2017 Newsletter
• Partner publications
• Divisions in the News
   

Divisions in the News

See what is going on in other divisions around BC:

https://www.divisionsbc.ca/provincial/inthenews