Information on primary care networks available in new online toolkit

The GPSC is supporting communities in the development of primary care networks (PCNs) in BC with the goal of increasing longitudinal care for patients. A total of 11 communities are now in the process of setting up PCNs, and 14 others are in the planning stages.

The GPSC partners (Ministry of Health and Doctors of BC) are now providing key information and guidance for those developing PCNs through a new online PCN toolkit. While it is specifically designed for those involved in or preparing for planning PCNs, materials posted on the toolkit may be of interest to others who want to gain an in-depth understanding of the work. The toolkit includes the PCN Implementation Guide, fact sheets, policies, and messaging.

Content will be updated regularly, and plans are underway to post all the resources online for easy searching and browsing. 

Hear from patients: New Patient Experience Tool

Family doctors and teams can now hear from their patients about their experiences and interactions with a practice.

Using the GPSC’s Patient Experience Tool, family practices can use the patient voice to contribute to their work to adopt attributes of a patient medical home and to determine readiness to participate in a primary care network.

The tool is a tablet-based survey that asks patients about topics such as wait times, office hours, and coordination of care. Practices can use the anonymous patient responses to inform quality improvement activities in practices, and can opt to share aggregated data with their local division for community planning efforts.

Read more.

PSP updates compensation policy and certification process

The GPSC recognizes that doctors and health care team members invest significant time to ensure that practices run smoothly and efficiently. As family practice teams expand, practices are increasingly focused on quality improvement (QI) activities. The GPSC’s Practice Support Program (PSP) has updated how doctors and eligible team members who engage in eligible QI activities can receive compensation and Mainpro+ credits.

For details about PSP’s updated compensation policy, click here.
For details about PSP’s simplified certification process, click here.

Billing education webinar: fees that support working in teams

All family doctors are invited to participate in a billing education webinar focused on both MSP fees and GPSC incentives that support doctors to work in team-based care environments on: 

Tuesday, Nov 26 at 6pm | Register

Hosted by the GPSC, the 90-minute webinar will cover details about: the GPSC Preamble and the MSC General Preamble for MSP fees, delegation, and communication. A schedule of additional upcoming billing education webinars about GPSC and select MSP fees will be made available soon.

Click here for details.

The Fraser Northwest Nurse Debbie Initiative featured in the BC Medical Journal

Fraser Northwest's Nurse Debbie initiative extends primary care services into patients’ homes, ensuring they receive the care they need quickly before health issues further develop. 

The home nursing team-based care model built into the Nurse Debbie initiative was so successful that the service was expanded by the Fraser Health Authority, becoming the Fraser Health Primary and Community Care Nursing Program. 

Health care teams are being built in patient medical homes within family practices, through primary care networks, and within urgent primary care centres. Like the Nurse Debbie model, these teams can take several forms and can comprise a wide array of allied health providers, including nurse practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists, dietitians, and social workers. 

Read the story.