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August 14, 2020
In this issue:
- Joint Collaborative Committees
- Divisions communications
- Fees and billing
- COVID-19 updates
- Health care partners
JOINT COLLABORATIVE COMMITTEES
New BC ECHO on Substance Use - Alcohol Use disorder launch
The BC ECHO on Substance Use, with support from the GPSC, is launching a new virtual educational series for family physicians and their teams focused on treating and managing high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder within primary care. The first-ever Alcohol Use Disorder session, Introduction to high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder in British Columbia, is on Tuesday, August 18 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
The BC ECHO on Substance Use is a free, CME-accredited online educational program coordinated by the BC Centre on Substance Use.
The Opioid Use Disorder series is now in its third cycle and new participants are welcome to join anytime.
For more information and to register visit the website, or email BCECHOonSubstanceUse@bccsu.ubc.ca.
New panel maintenance process available to support proactive patient care
New support is now available for family practices to sustain high quality Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data and work flow processes related to panel management, enabling the ongoing delivery of proactive patient care. Physicians and their teams can receive a combined maximum of 15 hours and up to 45 Mainpro+® credits when working through a panel maintenance cycle which focuses on key QI activities, with the help of the Practice Support Program’s coaches and peer mentors. The cycle can be completed up to two times per year.
Before applying for panel maintenance, physicians must have completed the three panel management phases and received the panel development incentive at least four months ago.
For more information, contact psp@doctorsofbc.ca or your local practice support team.
Improve your practice with new flexible learning opportunities
Physicians and family practice teams can now take advantage of the Practice Support Program (PSP) clinical and practice management learning opportunities in new accessible, flexible, and practical formats.
Interested physicians and teams can participate in group learning sessions (either virtually or in-person) and individual online learning sessions. These sessions can now be accessed based on immediate practice needs, including combining topic areas, helping to enable improvements that can benefit both patients and providers.
Contact your local practice support team for details or visit the GPSC website.
Registration open for GPSC Leadership Management Development Program
Registration is now open for the eleventh physician cohort in the GPSC’s Leadership and Management Development Program (GPSC LMDP) through Simon Fraser University which will run from Friday, November 27, 2020 to Saturday, May 29, 2021. The program is open to physicians who are already in a leadership role within their Division of Family Practice or are planning to be in a leadership role in the near future.
Detailed information about the program and the application form can be found in the brochure. The application deadline is September 13, 2020.
Please email or fax applications to:
GPSC Leadership and Management Development Program
c/o Allison Breunig
Primary Care Transformation
Fax: (604) 638-2916
Email: divisions@doctorsofbc.ca
DIVISIONS COMMUNICATIONS
New provincial communications team contacts
Members of the GPSC/Divisions Communications team are taking on new responsibilities with new portfolios starting Monday, August 10. We remain committed to providing strong support to the Divisions of Family Practice with our goal of providing solid, integrated service to physicians. Our team changes were brought about by Tara Lyon’s departure from the team earlier this year when she accepted a new role with the BC Medical Journal, and by recent changes to the Engagement and Quality Improvement (EQI) team at Doctors of BC as we sought to align our team portfolios with EQI.
After a recruitment process for the vacancy left by Tara’s move, Jeff Chan was the successful candidate. Jeff’s new role working with the Divisions builds upon the relationships he’s developed over the last few years while he supported the Division websites. To fill the vacancy created by Jeff’s move into his new role, we recruited Hillary McLean, who is our new team lead on the websites for the GPSC and Divisions.
Amory Wong, Caroline McGechaen, and Ranjit Sundur are taking on new communications portfolios within our team to support the GPSC and Joint Collaborative Committees activities. Amory and Caroline are providing communications strategy and support for the GPSC programs, and Ranjit is focused on special communications projects supporting JCC and GPSC work.
Your new contacts providing communications support for the Divisions of Family Practice are:
- Main Divisions communications support, including media outreach and training, issues management, and story writing – Jeff Chan at jchan@doctorsofbc.ca
- Websites for Divisions of Family Practice and the GPSC – Hillary McLean at hmclean@doctorsofbc.ca
- E-newsletters, including Divisions Dispatch and The Update – Jeff Chan at jchan@doctorsofbc.ca
- Divisions Annual Report editing support – Caroline McGechaen at cmcgechaen@doctorsofbc.ca
For any questions or feedback, please contact Jennifer Killam, Senior Communications Manager, at jkillam@doctorsofbc.ca.
FEES AND BILLING
Temporary change to ICBC fee code
MSP will now temporarily accept all billings of 13075 without the visit fee retroactive to April 1, 2019.
Last year’s introduction of ICBC’s new Assessment and Report fee structure resulted in eligible 13075 claims being refused. Physicians may now resubmit these 13075 refused claims. MSP has granted pre-approval to bill claims that are older than 90 days using submission code A.
As MSP’s submission cut-off is approaching, the oldest claims from April 2019 must be submitted no later than Wednesday, September 30, 2020.
COVID-19 UPDATES
Resources for pregnant/postpartum anxiety during COVID-19
UBC’s Perinatal Anxiety Research (PAR) Lab has assembled a collection of resources to support pregnant and postpartum women who are experiencing stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The repository includes resources that provide free Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), peer support, and helplines.
Click here for more information.
Webinars for physicians – addressing anxiety about back-to-school
BC Children’s Hospital Compass Mental Health Program is holding webinars to provide health care providers with practical tools and strategies to help reduce anxiety and support a successful return to school for children and youth. The webinars will promote discussion on how to support children, teens, and their families, many of whom are facing increased anxiety about a return to school resulting from COVID-19.
For details and registration, click links below:
- Wednesday, August 19 (12:00 – 13:00 PST) School avoidance in elementary years
- Wednesday, August 26 (13:00 – 14:00 PST) School avoidance in high school years.
HEALTH CARE PARTNERS
BC Cancer genetic counseling/genetic testing survey
The BC Cancer Hereditary Cancer Program (HCP) is currently piloting a Hereditary Cancer Follow-up Initiative (HCFI) aimed at re-contacting mutation carriers and their providers to better understand whether they are able to undergo recommended screening and procedures, access adequate supports, and communicate genetic test results to family members. The HCP provides genetic cancer counselling and genetic testing to patients in BC and the Yukon.
HCP is requesting physician feedback through a short survey that will take 10-15 minutes to complete.
For any questions, please contact Project Manager Pardeep Kaurah at pkaurah@bccancer.bc.ca
Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis online course
Child Health BC, BC Children’s Hospital, and UBC CPD have developed an interactive online course designed to help physicians recognize, treat, and manage atopic dermatitis in a primary care setting.
The course includes videos, images, a PDF action plan, and helpful patient resources to better equip parents and caregivers with the knowledge they need for management and follow-up care.
This course has been certified for up to 1.0 Mainpro+®/MOC Section 3 credits.
THE UPDATE: NEWS FROM THE GPSC
Keeping family physicians updated on the GPSC's programs and initiatives, The Update newsletter is published online and automatically emailed to family doctors in BC.
Click here to read the past editions of the newsletter.
DIVISIONS IN THE NEWS
Click here to read the latest news about Divisions of Family Practice in the media.
The provincial communications team produces a twice-monthly newsletter designed to keep divisions up-to-date with the Divisions initiative. It is sent to local division executive directors, administration, physician leads, and board members. In order to minimize emails being sent these groups, we try to include as much in these newsletters as possible. We encourage you to share it with your division members at large.
If you have a story you would like to submit for consideration, please contact Jeff Chan at jchan@doctorsofbc.ca.
Media coverage is monitored by the Divisions of Family Practice provincial communications team and compiled on the Divisions in the News page.
This issue can also be found on the Divisions of Family Practice website.
