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May 29, 2020
In this issue:
- COVID-19
- Joint Collaborative Committees
- Health Care Partners
COVID-19
Physicians: are you creating an individualized plan to re-open your offices?
A template from the document "The Doctor is In" is now available in Word format so that physicians can use it as the basis for their own individualized plans to increase in-person care.
The template provides a step-by-step checklist and includes topics such as assessing COVID-19 risk in the workplace, protocols to reduce risk, and developing policies to protect the safety of patients and staff. The Word document can be found in the Appendix entitled “Your COVID-19 safety plan” in the document, or by going to the Doctors of BC COVID-19 resource page, and look under Clinical and Practice Supports and click on “The Doctor is In Safety Plan Appendix in Word.”
Intimate Partner Violence during COVID-19
The Kelowna Women’s Safety Initiative, which aims to increase physician and public awareness regarding intimate partner violence (IPV), has produced two posters to support IPV awareness in family physicians’ clinics.
- The physician-focused poster offers suggestions for actions healthcare providers can take to combat IPV.
- The patient-focused poster includes information on how patients can discretely communicate their need to discuss IPV with their doctor. The poster is designed to display in real and virtual waiting rooms.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated issues surrounding IPV as survivors may be isolating with their abusers with fewer opportunities to access help. Physicians are uniquely positioned to inquire about and support survivors of IPV, particularly during physical distancing.
For more information, please email Kyla Freeman at k.freeman@alumni.ubc.ca.
Telehealth fee code changes coming June 1
On June 1, 2020, new age-adjusted telehealth fee codes for visits, counselling, and consultations done by phone or video will come into effect. These new fees have the same value as the in-person fee codes for similar patient encounters. The new fee codes should be used regardless of the physician’s location (home, office, or Health Authority-approved facility).
For more information, please visit the BC Family Doctors website to review the details of these new fees and download a billing cheat sheet.
Province Wide BC Virtual Care Study
Family physicians are invited to participate in the University of British Columbia’s PANdemic BC Virtual Care Study. The province-wide study aims to determine how BC family doctors are adapting to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here to take the survey.
Click here to view the study tracking document which outlines the status of completion in each division. Each division will be given individual grouped results for their location.
For questions, please email samuelkirk@alumni.ubc.ca.
COVID-19 Primary Care Survey of Clinicians
The Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Primary and Integrated Health Care Innovation Network in partnership with the Larry A. Green Center and the Primary Care Collaborative, is conducting a quick clinician survey to better understand response and capacity of Canadian primary care practices to COVID-19.
Complete the survey here. Responses required by Monday, June 1, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
JOINT COLLABORATIVE COMMITTEES
GPSC Meeting Summary March-May
Click here to view the latest GPSC meeting summary. Key highlights include:
- GPSC Workshop: BC Primary Care Response to COVID-19
- Ministry of Health PCN Update
- Virtual Care Update
- Welcome to Dr Anthon Meyer
HEALTH CARE PARTNERS
Participation requested for study on rural maternity care
Researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Centre for Rural Health Research are seeking rural and remote maternity care providers in British Columbia to take part in a study to identify the needs for and barriers to practitioners providing virtual maternity care. The results will be used to inform the development of an optimal platform to meet the needs of patients and practitioners in a rural context.
Click here to participate. Participants can enter a draw for one of three Amazon gift cards.
For more information, contact Christine Carthew at christine.carthew@ubc.ca.
Ophthalmology COVID-19 Rapid Access Triage and Referral System
Family physicians in the Lower Mainland can refer urgent patients to an ophthalmologist via the Ophthalmology COVID-19 Rapid Access Triage and Referral System.
Family doctors or their patients can use the online platform to submit demographic information as well as brief medical history and a description of the ophthalmic complaint. Once submitted, a member of the COVID-19 Ophthalmology Team will respond within 2 hours and contact the patient or the family physician to further triage the complaint.
If appropriate, a referral will be sent to an available ophthalmologist in a timely manner with a copy of the electronic submission and the telephone assessment record.
New BC Cancer Primary Care Learning Sessions
BC Cancer and UBC Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has launched a series of free online modules for BC family physicians practicing who are interested in learning more about colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer care.
Each interactive module explores the role of family physicians in supporting patients through their journey, as well as best practices for screening, treatment, and surveillance.
Click here for more information and to register.
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 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.
