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The Update is produced by the General Practice Services Committee (GPSC), one of four joint collaborative committees that are a partnership between Doctors of BC and the Ministry of Health.
The GPSC programs and initiatives strengthens full-service family practice and comprehensive patient care in BC. For more information, visit gpscbc.ca.
June 2020
Dr John Yap: one physician’s journey into the world of virtual care
New Westminster-based Dr John Yap remembers the exact date he and his four colleagues knew the way they provide care was about to change dramatically: Friday, March 13.
“We got official word to consider shifting to virtual care to help curtail COVID-19,” said Dr Yap. “The following Monday, we showed up to work as usual but as patients started cancelling their appointments, we realized we had to adapt, and quickly.”
Dr Yap is just one of the thousands of family physicians in BC who have made virtual care a part of their everyday practice since the outbreak of COVID-19. He relied on supports offered by the GPSC to help him take the leap, and now says, he couldn’t imagine going back.
Read his story here.
Photo inset: Dr John Yap providing virtual care from his home office.
DTO supporting physicians with virtual care through the COVID-19 pandemic
As physicians prepare to increase in-person care, it is clear that for many, virtual care will remain an important way to provide medical care. The use of telephone and telehealth (video conferencing) has increased dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many physicians, the future involves developing models of care that are hybrid – a combination of virtual and in-person care. The GPSC’s Doctor Technology Office (DTO) supports all physicians – from beginners to those who are more experienced – to maximize their ability to use technology in the most effective way and to begin to blend the two models of care. The Getting Back to Practice Guide helps physicians with advice on how to integrate virtual care and in-person care into practices, and rebuild clinic visit volumes.
In addition to a series of published and online guides, the DTO and Practice Support teams provide real-time support through online peer mentoring groups and the Virtual Care Learning Series. Information, virtual care supports, and other areas of importance for physicians can be found on the Doctors of BC COVID-19 page.
DTO is funded by Doctors of BC and the BC Government through the GPSC.
News
Step-by-step template available to help physicians safely re-open offices
BC physicians now have access to a downloadable word document that provides step-by-step directions and a checklist to help them safely increase the amount of in-person care they provide.
The checklist is contained in the Doctor is In document developed by physicians for physicians to help implement safety guidelines as they re-open offices with the lifting of some COVID-19 restrictions. It has now been converted into a Word document to make it easier for physician to amend and adapt the template for their own individual offices. The Doctor is In provides advice for physicians based guidelines from the Provincial Health Officer, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, WorkSafeBC, and the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC).
Practice Support Program supports for expanding in-person care
Physicians expanding in-person care can access support and advice from the team at the GPSC’s Practice Support Program (PSP). PSP practice coaches are available to help develop restart plans and develop hybrid models combining virtual and in-person care. Other supports include: developing patient workflows that align with provincial guidelines and implementing new visit scheduling processes.
Family physician longitudinal care payments coming in summer 2020
Eligible family physicians will soon receive the first installment of this year’s Community Longitudinal Family Physician (CLFP) Payment if they’ve already submitted the GPSC Portal Code (14070). GPSC has decided to make the 2020 CLFP Payment in two installments and has fast-tracked the first installment.
The first installment of $3000 will be paid in summer 2020. The second installment will be paid in winter 2020, and it will be based on the number and complexity of patients associated with the family physician.
Read more here.
Deadline: July 3
Family physicians must submit the GPSC Portal Code (14070) by the MSP cut-off date of July 3 to be eligible for payment.
Fee updates for family physicians
The GPSC approved temporary changes to the Chronic Disease Management fees (14050-53, 14250-53) to allow the minimum two visits to be delivered via telehealth, with the agreement to revisit the change in December 2020. 14066 can now be billed when the visit is provided via telehealth. More information here.
New age-adjusted telehealth fee codes for visits, counselling, and consultations done by phone or video are now in effect. For more information, please visit the BC Family Doctors website.
In 2019, GPSC made the decision to increase obstetrical delivery fees (14004, 14005, 14008, 14009) by 30%, effective April 1, 2019. GPSC has now retroactively applied the increase to January 1, 2019, so that all physicians can benefit from fee increases for their first 25 deliveries of 2019. Physicians do not need to act, this lift will be done automatically.
Pathways Virtual Care Directory - helping connect patients with their family doctors
The Pathways BC Virtual Care Directory has been launched in a number of communities over the last few weeks. The directory, developed by the GPSC with Pathways helps patients “search” their doctors to find out whether they’re providing virtual care and how best to connect with them.
Find out more about the directory and how you can join here.
Apply to receive GPSC eFaxing solution subsidy
To support practice efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic, the GPSC is offering BC family physicians a one-time e-Faxing subsidy of $150 towards one of the following:
- An automatic credit towards the SRFax Healthcare plan best suited to your practice.
- A reimbursement towards an e-Faxing solution that is already in place or accessed through your EMR vendor.
To access the subsidy:
- Complete the online application.
- When your application is approved, you will receive your reimbursement subsidy, or instructions for registering for your SRFax Healthcare account.
Applications close August 31, 2020.
For more information, check out the DTO Guide to eFaxing When Working Remotely or contact the Doctors Technology Office at dtoinfo@doctorsofbc.ca
Meet your GPSC representatives
Meet Dr Sari Cooper: Family physician, GPSC member, and published author
Dr Sari Cooper was drawn to medicine at an early age, after spending a lot of time in hospitals and doctors offices as a child. She has a family practice in Victoria, and is now a member of the GPSC. When she applied, she had no expectation of actually being selected, because she did not have a wealth of leadership experience. What she does have is passion for the profession, and a desire to help fix the health care system at the provincial level. Dr Cooper brings a fresh perspective, and is committed to real change. “I’m the grassroots, I’m the person the ground, your regular day-to-day family doctor in the trenches.” She also happens to be a published author.
Read Dr Cooper’s story here.
Meeting Summary
Key items from the March and May GPSC meetings include:
- GPSC Workshop: BC Primary Care Response to COVID-19
- Ministry of Health PCN Update
- Virtual Care Update
- Welcome to Dr Anthon Meyer
Click here to read all GPSC meeting summaries.
Event Calendar
JUNE
Every Wednesday - PHP drop-in Physician Peer Support Sessions from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Join here