April 2021
The monthly E-News shares provincial program information and updates about the Facility Engagement (FE) initiative. As this information will be of interest to Medical Staff Association (MSA) support teams, please feel free to forward the newsletter to your MSA executives as needed.
SEAT: Submission Deadline April 15, 2021
ACTION: MSAs to complete their SEAT submission by April 15, 2021.
The next deadline for MSA SEAT submissions is April 15. Submissions should include activities occurring in Q3 and Q4.
If you or your MSAs have any questions, please contact seatsupport@doctorsofbc.ca
FE Financial Reporting: Deadlines 2021/22
Physician Societies are required to reconcile their financials quarterly and fiscally to ensure accurate financial reporting and budgeting. This also provides the Facility Engagement Initiative (FEI) with accurate information on its spending.
Documentation & Timelines
Physicians Societies must provide FEI a balance sheet and income statement* within 30-days of the end of each quarter and within 30 days of 2021/22 fiscal year-end following the accrual period.
- An income statement can be accessed from your accounting software. The external financial system report is called the Profit and Loss Report in QuickBooks and the Balanced Income Statement in Sage.
- Providing a balance sheet for financial reporting will not trigger a gate release; it will be used for reporting purposes only. Your accountant can provide a balance sheet as needed to release a gate.
- If your MSA performs a yearly financial audit, please provide audited financial statements for year-end reporting.
2021/22 Submission Deadlines
- July 31 (Quarter 1 – April to June)
- October 31 (Quarter 2 – July to September)
- January 31 (Quarter 3 – October to December)
- May 31 (Year-End Financials – April to March 2021/22)
For 2020/21 year-end, the reporting deadline is May 31, 2021. A reminder will be provided in the May E-News.
Additional Support
Visit the Facility Engagement website for additional resources on reconciling internal operating expenses.
If you are unable to meet one of the deadlines above or require further support, please contact your Engagement Partner.
FEMS: Enhancements
As part of the FEMS teams ongoing commitment to providing a good user experience and increasing functionality, we will be performing maintenance to FEMS to install important updates to the system. On April 7, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., FEMS will be unavailable while we work on enhancing the platform. The changes are as follows;
1. Funding Available Message
Challenge:
When allocating funding to an engagement activity, FEMS admins can get an error message (as shown below) that states that there is no budget remaining to allocate. Admins may then contact FEMS Support to learn that the authorized funding to allocate can be found in the financial overview dashboard.
What is changing?
The total funding available for allocation will now be shown in an expanded message/prompt. Here’s an example:
Message:
- You only have $3,543.68 in total to allocate to EAs.
- Please reduce the budget of either this EA or other EAs to increase your available allocation.
2. Reverse Approved Claim
Challenge:
Claims approved by mistake cannot be reversed by FEMS admins; only the FEMS support can reverse the claim within 60 hours between a claim being approved and the “payment initiated.” Below is an example. Once the payment is initiated, the FEMS support team is unable to reverse the claim and must work with a development team to resolve the issue.
What is Changing?
FEMS admin and executives can now make the adjustment using the new “Reverse Approved Claim” function on the claim page. Below is an example.
Note:
- The window to reverse an approved claim remains at 60 hours from when the claim is approved.
- Should the claim pass this point, a ticket will need to be logged with FEMS support.
3. Payment Problem Notice Message
Challenge:
A “Payment Problem” is generated for claims submitted with incomplete registration; this can include missing one or more steps of the VersaPay registration process.
When this happens, a generic notice is shown (see below); this does not detail why a payment has not been received or why a claim is flagged.
FEMS support works with VersaPay to investigate the issue using the information from the claim page under the activities tab (see below).
What is Changing?
Doctors and/or FEMS admin can now contact VersaPay directly to resolve claims flagged as “Payment Problem” or “Unclaimed funds”. Here is an example message that shows how to proceed:
Please stay tuned for a webinar by the FEMS support team on the above changes. If you have any questions regarding the above changes, please reach out to femssupport@doctorsofbc.ca
Webinar: PM Helpdesk Lunch and Learn
Our Lunch and Learn sessions continue to be a hit! Thank you to those who joined our March session and provided feedback. If you would like to provide feedback on the March session please complete the survey.
For those who missed the March webinar about bout engaging with First Nations partners and finalizing your financial year smoothly, watch the recorded presentation.
Our next Lunch and Learn will be on Tuesday, April 20, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. (link to Zoom):
- Community Building: Breakouts by Site Size – How we work with our local Divisions of Family Practice
- Learning: Accessing Support – Who to ask for what.
If you have any questions about the webinar please contact the PM Helpdesk at pmhelpdesk@facilityengagement.ca.
Did you know...? April is named for the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.
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.