Port Alberni Primary Care Network

The Port Alberni Primary Care Network is pleased to add another Nurse in Practice to our team in November! Our 3rd Nurse in Practice will be supporting Dr. Arno Kitshoff and Dr. Freddie Meyer in their clinics. We are also super happy to be welcoming a new Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist (PCCP) early in the new year, with the PCCP supporting 7 clinicians in 4 area clinics upon starting. Our PCN team will come around and visit your practice in the coming weeks to explain how your clinic can also be supported by the PCCP, with referrals available to our pharmacist from any Port Alberni primary care clinic. Patients can be seen virtually for med reviews, polypharmacy concerns, medication allergies or adverse reactions, sub-optimal drug therapy outcomes, complexities from self-treatment  and much more! 

If you have any questions at all about any of the currently operating team-based care programs under the Port Alberni PCN, please contact PCN Administrator Amanda Salvage at asalvage@cidivision.ca or PCN Manager Sharon Todd at stodd@cidivision.ca.

Operations & Recruitment Update

Recruitment/Retention

• Meet and greet visits happened in Parksville with the new to town Dr. He met with two clinics and physicians to discuss options in their offices. He is hopeful to wind up in QB in the end. It may be possible that he join the Fern Tree Clinic Specialist Clinic by renting some space within the clinic.
• Retirement Demystified Webinar put on by Island Docs. Very informative meeting with recently retired physicians speaking about their transitions to retirement. 3 Central Island members attended.
• LFP information/engagement evening with DoBC President Dr. Greggain occurred at Tigh- na-mara. Well attended by our members and a handful from Nanaimo division.
• Meet and Greet supper with new GP and Qualicum physician
• Planning for our first Food for Thought meeting has begun. Will trial it at West Memorial Medical with Dr. Morris who will join Jill and I for the Oceanside meetings, and then Dr. Kitschoff will do the same in Port Alberni. First meeting in November.
• Assisting in the creation of a “site visit questionnaire” being developed in Port Alberni
• A new locum as offered periodic coverage in Oceanside. He is semi-retired and visits family here frequently.

MOA Network

• Pathways Update webinar for our MOA’s.
• Planning continues for a combined MOA event with the Nanaimo Division. Will likely be booked in January.

November 23, 2023 - Provincial Attachment System Newsletter

Provincial Attachment System Update: Announcement on updating panels

This newsletter provides updates and important information on the Provincial Attachment System for family physicians who provide longitudinal care, including those on Fee-for-Service and Alternate Payment models, and for physicians enrolled in the LFP Payment Model. 

Updates in this newsletter include:

• New information on how to update panels.
• Deadline approaching for submitting panel lists and completing the Panel Registry.
• Recording of the November 16 webinar.
• How to submit endorsements into the PAS

How to update panel lists after they are submitted

Many physicians have asked us how to update lists of empanelled patients once you have submitted them to MSP/Teleplan. Below you will find information on how to ensure your panel list in the Provincial Attachment System (PAS) is current and accurate. 

Steps to update panel lists

1. Add new patients to panel: Send $0 attachment code 98990 to MSP/Teleplan through your EMR.
2. Remove patients from panel: Click the “remove” button that will be added to the Panel Registry in the PAS by December 12.

More detailed instructions on how to add and remove patients from your panel list will be shared shortly.

How often to update panel lists

We encourage you to incorporate these steps for adding and removing patients into your daily workflow. We also recommend reviewing your panel list in PAS regularly, and no less than on a quarterly basis, to ensure it is up to date and to correct any possible errors along the way. A note that your PAS password will expire after 90 days from logging into the system, so a quarterly check-in will ensure that you do not need to update your password.   

There is currently a delay of 4 to 6 weeks from the time panel lists are submitted and when they show up on the PAS Panel Registry. By the end of November, you will be able to see panel lists you submitted and updates you have made on the Panel Registry within a few days.

Why updating panel lists is important

Updated panel lists will be critical to ensure payments accurately reflect panel size when the new method is developed for calculating panel payments under the LFP Payment Model or CLFP Payments under the Fee-for-Service or Alternate Payment models. 

Sometimes patients may, often inadvertently, appear on more than one panel list. Early in the new year, we will start a process to resolve situations where patients appear on multiple panel lists. It will be important that panel lists are updated before this process begins to minimize the number of panel conflicts. Watch for more information on deadlines, payment, and the process for resolving panel conflicts in the coming weeks.

Deadline getting closer to complete the Panel Registry and submit panel lists

With the end of the year getting closer, we strongly encourage physicians to submit your panel lists to MSP/Teleplan and complete the Panel Registry, a component of the PAS, as soon as possible. For Fee-for-Service and physicians on Alternate Payment Models, the deadline to complete both steps is December 31 in order to receive payment.

Doctors on the LFP Payment Model should have submitted panel lists by October 31 or within three months of enrolment, and have until December 31 to complete the Panel Registry.

Please note, Doctors of BC staffing levels will be reduced over the last two weeks of December, with the office closed between December 21 to January 2. It is recommended that you complete the following steps by December 21, to ensure support is available should you have questions or need assistance.

Steps to take:

1. Log in to the Panel Registry and identify if you are able to take on new patients and provide or update/correct other clinic information.
2. Clean up your panel lists and submit them using your EMR or the third-party service provider Dr.Bill. If you plan to use your EMR register here to schedule a date to submit your list as soon as possible once you have completed your panel clean up. Detailed information on how to clean up and submit panel lists, including how to access support to help you, can be found here.
3. Review the PAS payments page that includes a detailed FAQ to ensure you have covered all the actions required in order to receive the $6,500 payment.

Perinatal Community of Practice Engagement Event: REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

We are delighted to announce that our keynote speaker for this year's conference will be Hillary McBride, PhD, a registered psychologist who specializes in trauma, perinatal mental health, and embodiment, and the practice of hope. She is passionate about knowledge translation, innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to whole person care, and equipping communities of helpers who help others in sustainable, embodied, transformative ways.

Register now for the Perinatal CoP Engagement Event on March 1, 2024!

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Perinatal Community of Practice Engagement Event in Vancouver, BC.

As this event has limited capacity, please do not forward the registration link. There will be a wait list available—please have others contact Shared Care to join the wait list.

Friday, March 1 2024 | 9:00am–4:00pm (3pm – 4pm optional nibbles and connection)
Breakfast available from 8:00am
Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
1000 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC

The Perinatal Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee invites you to this in-person event, centered around connection, resource sharing, and group learning.

Participants will learn:

• Best practice in providing care for those who have experienced trauma.
• Discuss the tools and resources available to bolster post-partum care.
• Foster relationships, build valuable connections, and exchange ideas with perinatal professionals from across the province.

REGISTER NOW

Things to know:

• Attendees are required to book their own travel and accommodation for this event in Vancouver, BC.
• Eligible (non-salaried) physicians will be paid sessional rates and be reimbursed for travel expenses as per the expense guidelines.
• There is no cost to register.
• Once you have registered for the event, you will receive the link to book the hotel room at the discounted rate.
• Please book your hotel no later than January 30, 2024 to receive the discounted rate.
• Travel expenses will be reimbursed at the most economical and expeditious route of travel. If you are unsure about the eligibility of your potential travel arrangements, please contact Shared Care.

Introducing newly updated maternity care education for family physicians across BC

Update from UBC Division of Continuing Professional Development about our But I Don’t Do Maternity Care! workshop series for family physicians.

If you recall, your Division previously participated in several maternity care workshops between February and April of 2018. These workshops were developed in partnership with the Vancouver Division of Family Practice.

We want to let you know that over the last couple of years these workshops have been updated and revamped and we are ready to roll them out across the province and make them available for your community! Workshops are now available on various topics across the preconception to postpartum spectrum of care.

Updates have included:

• Moving all didactic content from past workshops into a self-paced online module accessible to anyone anytime (access here)
• Shortening live workshops from 3 to 1.5 hours
• Making live workshops available either in-person or over Zoom
• Focusing the live workshops on small case study discussions tailored to unique groups and communities

If you are interested in participating in these workshops, we will be running a training session with other Divisions so that you can learn more about the program, content, and how UBC CPD can support you to deliver them to your community.

This will be held on Wednesday January 17, 2024 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm over Zoom. We invite you to attend to learn more. We suggest that you bring two people: one Division staff who would be involved in organizing the workshop logistics and one community family physician who may be facilitating the workshop for your group.

We will also be hosting a postpartum care workshop over Zoom for the Vancouver Division of Family Practice on February 13, and this would be a great opportunity for you to attend and see it in action prior to setting a date for your own group. You could even come with a small group from your Division and run your own discussion during the breakout sessions.

Please reply to Evelyn Clark at eclark@cidivision.ca if you are interested in learning more and attending. 

BCALM - new referral service. MSP covered mindfulness based stress management

We are very excited to announce that we are now offering our MSP funded course, the Art of Living Mindfully(ALM), ONLINE and are accepting referrals from every community in British Columbia! The BC Association for Living Mindfully (BCALM) is a non-profit society, founded on Vancouver Island in 2013, which is dedicated to facilitating mindfulness and compassion in homes, schools, workplaces and communities throughout British Columbia. Trained physician facilitators run this ALM 8-week course as a group medical visit, teaching mindfulness, meditation and CBT strategies to people challenged by stress-related conditions. This evidence-based intervention is particularly helpful for patients with anxiety disorders, depression, chronic illness, chronic pain, and insomnia. Started in 2013, the ALM course is now offered to over 1000 people per year on Vancouver Island, and we are now looking forward to expanding this program throughout BC.

Please click here for, a letter of introduction and referral process/form for the BC Association of Living Mindfully, a mental health support service paid via MSP that’s accessible, online, for patients across BC.

BCAMN Now Accepting Physician Mentee Applications for March Intake!

Looking for ways to better support patients living with complex pain, mental health and substance use? Are you burning out and would appreciate experts to mentor you and colleagues to inspire you? Improve your knowledge and confidence and gain support in an ongoing interdisciplinary network with small group and 1:1 mentoring from expert practitioners.

APPLY TO BECOME A MENTEE in the BC Adaptive Mentorship Network (BCAMN) for Pain, Mental Health & Substance Use. Learn more at painbc.ca/bcamn. Apply before February 15 for your best chance to be considered for the March intake!

Gregg Moor (he/him)
Project Manager, Education
604 961 6556
painbc.ca

Oceanside Hospice Society

The Oceanside Hospice Society serves individuals and families experiencing end-of-life, care-giving and bereavement in the area stretching from Deep Bay to Nanoose, and west to Errington and Whiskey Creek
We strive to provide links in the continuum of care by supporting care giving at home, in hospital or the palliative care unit at Trillium and at community care facilities.
Please contact us at 250.752.6227 or visit www.oceansidehospice.com for further information.

Divisions Dispatch

The latest news from the provincial team and complementary organizations.

Please click here for updates including:

• LFP Payment Model updates
• Updated BC Cancer screening report titles
• Divisions invited to meet with BC Cancer Cervix Screening Program to prepare for transition from cytology to HPV primary screening
• East Kootenay family doctor develops guide to reducing environmental impact of health care
• July 19 webinar | Antidepressants and substance use
• July 20 webinar | Updates on risks and harms of alcohol use
• Opioid use disorder training for doctors and their clinical teams: LOUD in PC Collaborative
   

Divisions in the News

Divisions in the News
See what is going on in other divisions around BC:

https://divisionsbc.ca/provincial/news-and-events