No Images? Click here Thompson Focus November 1, 2017Changes to our Board LeadershipOn October 10th the Thompson Region Division Board delegated positions for Directors for 2017-18. In order to support strong distribution and succession planning for our Division leadership we are pleased to announce the following changes to our Board's delegated positions:
Please join us in thanking these Directors for their commitment to the leadership of this organization. Looking for Physician Input at the new Urgent Family Care Centre and Teaching CentreIf you are considering the possibility of practicing at the Urgent Family Care Centre once open we urge you to connect with us now so that you can have a say on the compensation model, equipment being ordered, flow of patients, and EMR selection unfolding in these two spaces. There are many decisions currently on the table for both spaces and we want to make sure any interested physician in the community has the ability to shape a space that would be desirable to work in the future. By developing the Urgent Family Care and Teaching Centre the goal is to address concerns around the increasing number of primary care patients visiting the Emergency Department with low acuity care needs (CTAS 4/5); the long term goal is to address primary care needs of the community by increasing recruitment efforts of primary care physicians through creating a variety of working and learning opportunities for physicians. The Urgent Family Care Centre would be open 12 hours a day (considering 10am-10pm) seven days a week. The exact triage point for patients and patient flow is still requiring physician input as well. We are also happy to share back any comments/feedback we hear from our members around these centres and support anyone who may wish to get involved. Please feel free to submit your comments here. Allied Health Networking EventCongratulations to Kirsty Murray who was the lucky winner of a two-night stay at Sun Peaks Resort, courtesy of the RIH Foundation, at our Allied Health Networking event on September 27th at Terra Restaurant. The turnout for the event was overwhelming with approximately 85 allied health professionals, family physicians, medical residents, and nurse practitioners in attendance. We heard loud and clear that there is widespread interest in moving toward a team-based, integrated system of health care in the Thompson Region and allied health has a large role to make that happen. A number of key themes emerged from the event as attendees had an opportunity to participate in a number of interactive activities aimed at gathering input on challenges and opportunities associated with team-based care. We heard that the main barriers to collaboration centre around a lack of time, inadequate communication and information sharing issues. While solutions to these barriers varied, numerous participants indicated the value of events like this one and the appetite to do more social and educational events with colleagues. Thank you to all who joined us on September 27th and shared our enthusiasm for building stronger relationships between Division members and allied health professionals in the Thompson Region. Staff are currently compiling the results of the event and will be sharing a summary report of the evening within the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more details. Director Profile - Dr. Isabel BarnardDr. Isabel Barnard is one of the three new Directors to join the Board this year. She graduated from the Universiteit Van Stellenbosch in 1982 and moved to Kamloops in 2003 to open a GP practice. She worked in her practice full time before diversifying into GP Oncology part time. Dr. Barnard has also worked in Mental Health and Substance Disorders as well as corrections. Her diverse portfolio has made her a great representative of the district at the SGP. Isabel closed her practice this spring after serving Kamloops for almost 15 years. Isabel enjoys travelling in her spare time. Please join us in welcoming Isabel to the Board. Polypharmacy Risk Reduction Mentorship ProgramUnder the GPSC Residential Care Initiative one of the five best practices for providing care to individuals living in residential care homes is conducting meaningful medication reviews. A mentorship opportunity is now available to family physicians who care for individuals living in residential care homes. This will be an interactive session run by trained mentors. The review will include the mentor physician, Most Responsible Physician (MRP), pharmacist, and residential care nursing staff. Click here for more information. Residential Care Chart Audit Starting in KamloopsThe GPSC Residential Care Initiative is pleased to announce that we have hired Juanita Hagarty, an RN with over 30 years of experience, to work on quality improvement. As part of this initiative she will be conducting a chart audit relating to the five best practices of residential care. The best practices are:
Over the next five months you will be receiving regular communication about the results of the audit regarding your patients in residential care. Please contact Laura Becotte if you have questions or concerns. Are you attending any medicine conferences in November?We will have exhibits at the Family Medicine Forum, St. Paul's course, and the UBC education day. If you would like to help connect with physicians around recruitment at any of these events, or if you want to recruit a family physician to join your team, please connect with Christine Matuschewski or post to our website. Fall Family Fun SocialThank you to everyone who attended the fall social on October 13th at Tod Mountain Thoroughbreds. We partnered with Rural and Remote Division, the RIH Foundation, and the UBC Family Medicine Residency Program to welcome new residents to our communities and reconnect with physicians colleagues across our divisions. We had 67 people join us for a BBQ, farm tour, and socializing at the Fawcett Farm, generously hosted by Ron and Rae Fawcett. Although it was chilly, it was a great event! Pathways Tip of the MonthPathways has been making improvements to their search function. You can now search for words with as few as two letters (ie. 'GF' when searching GF Strong, or last names like NG). Common synonyms will show up along with your search term. For instance, searching 'insomnia' will now return results that include 'sleep' in the title. 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. Interior Health and Community Partner UpdatesCentral Referral SolutionsThe Kamloops general surgeons have launched a new initiative called Central Referral Solutions (CRS). CRS is a surgical referral process that provides primary care providers with the option to either refer to a specific surgeon or to the first available surgeon. The centralized referral process will remove guesswork and ensure your patient is seen as quickly as possible, by the most appropriate surgeon. The team has put together an information package for your reference as well as a paper-based booking form. This information has been updated on Pathways as well. Please contact Andrea Zazzi, Project Coordinator, if you have any questions. Health Data Coalition expands network with new GPSC FundingThe Health Data Coalition, a physician-led data sharing platform that enables collaborative quality improvement in primary care, has received new funding from the GPSC. Used by physicians across BC, HDC provides secure access to aggregated clinical data while maintaining patient and physician confidentiality. Primary health care providers enrolled in the HDC can compare their data to that of colleagues in their clinic, division, and across the province. Compatible with MOIS, Osler, and OSCAR EMRs, HDC has also finalized statements of work with Intrahealth and Telus that allow 95% of primary care physicians in BC to integrate HDC into their practices by 2019. Click here to read the full article, or visit HDC's website if you're interested in participating. Eating Disorders ToolkitInterior Health has updated their Eating Disorders Toolkit. The Toolkit contains information about eating disorders, assessment, treatment, and referrals. Click here for the updated toolkit. Contact Carla Mantie if you have any questions. Are standards on chronic pain impacting your practice?Take part in a UBC 10 minute confidential online survey to share how the BC College of Physicians & Surgeons standards have impacted your pain management. The survey will also help Pain BC plan education useful to you and identify resource needs in communities. The principal investigator is Dr. Romayne Gallagher who wants to gain a better understanding of the impact of the College's issuance of prescribing standards edict for pain management and opioids. Click here to complete the survey. Change Day BC to take place on 17.11.17The BC Patient Safety & Quality Improvement Council is inviting anyone involved in health and social care across the province to commit to making a change or trying something new to make our system better for British Columbians - whether they are patients, residents, clients, families, or those working in the health care system. Change Day BC is building on the success of the global Change Day initiative and BC's first Change Day in 2015 that inspired thousands of pledges. You are invited to make a pledge any time between now and Change Day, which will take place on Friday, November 17, 2017 (17.11.17). Pledges are collected online at changedaybc.ca. Support for families struggling with mental health issuesBC Schizophrenia Society has a program to support families struggling with mental health issues. The Family Support Group has monthly meetings at the Kamloops Mental Health Offices, located at 235 Lansdowne St. The next two meetings are Monday, November 6 and Monday, December 4 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Click here for more information. Spiritual HealthBC recently launched Spiritual Health Education modules across the province to help staff, volunteers, and the public learn how spiritual health supports patient-centred care. A framework for BC's Spiritual Health Professionals has been developed. Viktor Gundel is the Spiritual Health Lead for Interior Health. Click here to learn more about Spiritual Health. IH Memo: Active respiratory TB screening for residential care accessPlease see the attached memo from Interior Health Home Health Administrators and Practice Leads regarding a standardized process for Home Health to ensure compliance with the new BC Centre for Disease Control TB expectations. Click here to read the memo. Updated Palliative Care GuidelinesThe BC Cancer Agency's Family Practice Oncology Network partnered with the BC Guidelines and Protocols Committee to update their Palliative Care Guidelines including current drug tables and costs. 2017 updates now available: The Palliative Approach to Care, Pain and Symptom Management, and Grief and Bereavement. Learn more on their website. ResourcesUpcoming CME and Webinar OpportunitiesExtra Reading & Partner PublicationsThompson Region Division of Family Practice |