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Divisions of Family Practice
Divisions Dispatch
August 26, 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

Information Sharing Agreement webinars

Division members are invited to provide input into the development of and Information Sharing Agreement (ISA) for Primary Care Networks. Sharing patient information is integral for providing direct care to patients, and to the planning, implementation, evaluation, and quality improvement of service delivery within the PCNs.

The ISA is being developed by the General Practice Services Committee (GPSC) Information Sharing Task Group—one of several groups created by the GPSC to focus on key areas in PCN implementation.

An introductory information webinar will be held on September 17, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. to communicate about the task group goals, work that has taken place so far, and what kind of feedback will be most useful. This webinar will be recorded and posted online for those who are unable to attend.

Participatory webinars will be offered at the end of September/early October for participants to share their thoughts about the ISA. For convenience, this webinar will be offered at three different times. More information about the participatory webinars will be made available shortly.

Click here to register for the introductory webinar on September 17.

For any questions, please e-mail gpscinfosharing@doctorsofbc.ca.

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Registration open for rural PCN webinar

The GPSC and Ministry of Health are hosting a webinar to share the framework that will help guide development of rural Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across the province. The webinar will take place on August 28 from 8:00 a.m.-9:00a.m.

The webinar will focus on how diverse perspectives were utilized to understand rural settings and to conceptualize and operationalize rural PCNs in the context of the province-wide PCN strategy. It will also discuss the health human resources, financial, administrative, and governance parameters that are under consideration to inform rural PCNs.

All PCN Leads, CSC Co-Chairs and Division Executive Directors are invited to register here.

Thinking in Networks and Managing Change Initiative

The GPSC and JSC/RCCbc are collaborating to offer divisions the opportunity to engage consultants Adam King and Ron Lindstrom to better understand and improve the quality and strength of local relationships to enable successful primary care transformation.  This initiative is in response to the requests we received from divisions following the last Divisions Learning Session.

The intent of this initiative is to assist divisions and their Collaborative Services Committee (CSC) partners to enhance their ability to develop stronger partnerships, build local capacity to operate effectively in networks, and to better navigate change.

The consultants have various service options available for divisions and their CSC partners to choose from including:

  • Rapid Relationship Assessment
  • Strategic Storytelling
  • PARTNER Tool
  • Change strategy and management capacity building workshops for PCN leadership and implementation teams
  • Change strategy and management coaching for implementation teams

This opportunity is open to all divisions and their CSC partners across the province, and will be available over a two-year period (September 2019 to September 2021). For more information on this initiative, please refer to the information sheet.

For more information, please contact Katrina Stein.

New PCN liaison joins CPI team

As of August 30, Nikita Soares, will be taking a one-year sabbatical leave. In her place, the CPI team welcomes Nikeesha Gosal who will be stepping into Nikita’s role as Primary Care Network Liaison and continuing to support divisions with the needs and resources for their PCNs.

Nikeesha recently moved from the UK and brings with her several years of experience leading complex projects and change initiatives in multi-site healthcare organizations. She comes from St. John Ambulance in England where she led the implementation and design of a major organizational change program related to wellbeing.

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Nurse Practitioners overhead guidelines and principles

The Ministry of Health has released the Nurse Practitioner Overhead Guidelines and Principles document to assist nurse practitioners (NPs), health authorities, Divisions of Family Practice, primary care network administrators and other partners understand the intent, principles, and guidelines related to the NP overhead allocation provided within the NP service contracts.

Click here to read the document.

Further clarification for two GPSC fees: G14086 and G14010

Family doctors working under Alternative Payment (AP) funding (including Ministry of Health Primary Care GP contracts) may enter into practice agreements with primary care practices requiring the provision of in-patient care or maternity care services as part of their AP funded contracts. In these cases, the GPSC permits family doctors to bill G14086 (GP Assigned Inpatient Care Network Initiative) and G14010 (Maternity Care Network Initiative Payment) in addition to their AP funded contract, provided they participate in the network activities defined in G14086 and G14010.

For questions or more information, contact gpsc.billing@doctorsofbc.ca.

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New PSP compensation policy better recognizes doctors and practice teams

PSP understands family doctors and team members invest significant time in ensuring that practices run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. 

Family practice teams have expanded, and family physicians and other team members are increasingly focused on quality improvement (QI) activities. In recognition of this, PSP has updated how it compensates family physicians and team members for these activities.

Effective June 15, 2019, PSP’s updated compensation policy entitles each eligible practice team member to receive compensation for up to 15 hours of work for participating in a QI activity. Activities include participation in eligible small group learning sessions and in deeper dives to plan and action improvements. Team members can include MOAs, AHPs in private practice, and AHPs employed by a GP practice.

Click here for details.

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UBC CPD seeking participants for ICBC reporting/billing changes focus groups

UBC Continuing Professional Development (UBC CPD) is inviting family physicians and MOAs to participate in focus groups to discuss their experiences with the new ICBC reporting and billing process.

Several focus groups will be held in September/October and participant input will guide the development of our educational offerings (which will include workshops and online modules). Participants will only be required to attend one focus group session. Remuneration for the 90 minute focus group meeting will be at sessional rate based on professional category, and teleconference options will be available.

For any physician or MOA interested in participating in a focus group, please complete the survey (links below) before August 31, 2019. The survey will take approximately 3 minutes.
Survey responses will be kept confidential and will be used to select participants for the focus groups to ensure a broad sample is represented. Only survey respondents selected for the focus group will be contacted.

Click here to access the family physician focus group recruitment survey.

Click here to access the MOA focus group recruitment survey.

For more information, contact icbc.cpd@ubc.ca or visit the website.

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FNW Clinical Counsellor program allows quick referrals to mental health support

Fraser Northwest Clinical Counsellor program—a collaboration between Fraser Northwest Divisions of Family Practice, health authorities, local clinical counsellors, and other stakeholders—enables physicians and NPs to quickly refer patients to one of five local clinical counsellors who are part of the Primary Care Network.

This means that patients with mild to moderate mental health and substance use challenges in Fraser Northwest are getting more timely care and support from local clinical counsellors.

Click here to read about the program and the profound impact on patient care. 

Registration open for GPSC's Leadership and Management Development Program

A reminder that registration is now open for the tenth physician cohort in the GPSC’s Leadership and Management Development Program (GPSC LMDP) through SFU which will run from November 22, 2019 to May 23, 2020 in Vancouver.

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.

For more information, visit the GPSC website. Application forms and further details about the program can be found in the brochure.

The application deadline is September 8, 2019.

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DTO support: technology vendors approaching divisions

A number of divisions have been approached by software vendors selling products to implement in their community, including tools for virtual care, patient access, online booking, etc. Divisions have reported that these requests are becoming overwhelming and/or they are unsure how to respond and are asking for a more coordinated and standardized approach.

The Doctors Technology Office (DTO) is available to act as a central point of contact where requests from vendors can be directly forwarded to our team and we can engage with them on behalf of physicians and Divisions of Family Practice. DTO has already been working to connect with vendors directly to learn more about their platforms and validate the features that may impact clinical care, such as privacy and security standards, device/IT requirements, and EMR integration.

If any division or physician is contacted by a private vendor they are encouraged you to contact DTO to discuss in more detail and to learn how these products may fit within the larger provincial strategies for digital health.

For any questions, concerns, or referrals for follow up, please contact DTO at dtoinfo@doctorsofbc.ca. To learn more about the services and resources available through DTO, visit the website.

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Divisions website enhancements

The Divisions of Family Practice website network is updated regularly in an effort to streamline the user experience and accommodate divisions’ needs. In addition to behind-the-scenes software updates like security enhancements and usability improvements, some recent changes that are more noticeable to local division website admin staff include:

  • Added the ability for a division admin to add a user from the user list page
  • Forced SSL on all traffic, thus solving any issues that occurs going back and forth between SSL and non-SSL pages.
  • Fixed a bug that occasionally caused banner images to disappear from pages.

For any questions or feedback about the divisions website, or to request a web support session, please contact Jeff Chan at jchan@doctorsofbc.ca.

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Counselling available for individuals impacted by MMIWG

Free counselling services in BC are available to survivors, family members, and individuals affected by the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. This counselling program is administered by First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) through the Health Benefits team, and counselling is offered by providers who are registered with FNHA’s Mental Health Provider List. This list is updated regularly and is available here.

Individuals can access counselling by connecting directly with a mental health provider from the list to schedule an appointment. Counsellors will directly bill FNHA, so there is no upfront cost to the individual to access counselling. People of all genders are encouraged to connect to this resource. Individuals do not need to have status and can live on or off reserve.

Click here to access the program information sheet.

Click here for an overview of all the mental health programs that FNHA’s First Nations Health Benefits program supports.

For any questions, please call the First Nations Health Benefits team at 1-877-477-0775.

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New CPI staff member

Vanja Filipovic is the new Administrative Assistant for Community Liaisons on the Community Partnerships & Integration Team. Previously, she worked at Paladin Security Group, a fast-paced environment where she prepared detailed and accurate evidence based reports.

Vanja attended the University of British Columbia where she graduated from the Undergraduate Arts Program with degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

She will begin in her role on September 3, 2019.

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Registration open for the 2019 Be Active Every Day challenge

Doctors of BC's annual children’s health campaign Be Active Every Day is back this October. The event sees physicians connect with local schools to challenge kids to make healthy, active choices. This year has an added focus on safey as we encourage kids to Be Active, Be Seen, Be Safe. 

Click here to register. For more information and resources, visit the website

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Divisions in the news



DATE DIVISION PUBLICATION TITLE
July 26, 2019 Central Interior Rural Maclean's Nobody likes sick notes anymore. Why won’t they go away?
Aug 8, 2019 North Shore North Shore News EDITORIAL: A shot in the arm
Aug 8, 2019 North Shore CBC Urgent primary care centre to open on North Shore
Aug 13, 2019 North Shore The Georgia Straight Third urgent primary healthcare centre in Metro Vancouver to open in North Vancouver
Aug 14, 2019 South Okanagan Similkameen Oliver Chronicle New list makes finding family doctor easier in South Okanagan
Aug 15, 2019 South Okanagan Similkameen Castanet Connect with a family doc

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 Caroline McGechaen at cmcgechaen@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.

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Divisions in the News