The Surgical Patient Optimization Collaborative (SPOC) is an initiative of the Specialist Services Committee, in partnership with two other Joint Collaborative Committees of the Doctors of BC and the BC government, namely, the Shared Care Committee and the General Practice Services Committee. The collaborative aims to address the need for a coordinated approach to surgical optimization in BC.
Purpose
With an increasingly aging population, there are a growing number of patients with complex conditions and in need of surgeries. The purpose of this collaborative is to improve assessment and management of these patients, which will in turn reduce adverse events, increase patient and caregiver satisfaction, and improve post-operative outcomes.
Sizing it Up
The Surgical Patient Optimization Collaborative was launched on May 6, 2019. With health authorities' support, the collaborative is being implemented for a total of 18 months (May, 2019 to Dec, 2020) of interactive, multi-disciplinary learning fueled by in-person learning sessions and action periods, designed to support the implementation of optimization processes and components. Teams will be supported throughout the period of the collaborative to create a sustainable optimization process in order to be able to continue this work beyond the time period of the collaborative.
Things to Know
Patient Optimization is designed to assist patients to prepare for an elective procedure, so they experience improved outcomes from their surgery. Patient Optimization is designed to focus on both the mental and physical aspects of surgery, therefore decreasing pre-surgical risk factors so that patients can obtain high quality outcomes from their surgery. Components of optimization include:
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Access Support
15 teams across BC are being supported by this collaborative. These teams were selected for their previous experience and engagement in this work, readiness assessment scores, and health authority support. Teams were also chosen based on regional diversity and fair representation across health authorities. Each team has two or more members depending on the scope of the project. The teams include a specialist physician lead, a co-lead, and other health practitioners including Nurse Practitioners, General Practitioners, Nurses, and allied health.
The optimization practices introduced by this collaborative are expected to be integrated in the medical system after the end of this collaborative.
No new applications are currently being accepted for involvement in this collaborative.
Resources
Contact
For more information, please contact: Geoff Schierbeck, SSC Liaison at: gschierbeck@doctorsofbc.ca