Various community-based specialists have approached us at the Specialist Services Committee (SSC) about the hurdles that you encounter as you work to provide the best possible patient care. To ensure we have a broad understanding of these challenges, we need your input. Please fill out this five-minute survey by September 25,2020. The survey outcomes will be used to inform our ongoing work and will help us address your needs, so that together we can help improve patient care in BC.
Teamwork is delivering powerful changes for newborns
Aug 28, 2020
Dr Sandesh Shivananda, Medical Director at the BC Women's Hospital Neonatal program has seen many significant changes in quality of care and teamwork since moving in the new Teck Acute Care Centre in 2017 – a centre with 70 beds that provides birth and post-birth care for mothers and new born babies.
Registration open for online course on Finding & Creating Joy in Work
Jul 10, 2020
Given the popularity of the course on Finding and Creating Joy in Work among the participants over the last year, the Specialist Services and Shared Care Committees via their Physician Leadership S
Spotlight on a Specialist - Dr Carol Ward
Jun 29, 2020
Dr Carol Ward, a geriatric psychiatrist chose her specialty for the opportunity to connect with people. “I love stories. I love to hear people’s stories. And the longer you live, the better the story.” Growing up in the Maritimes, Dr Ward was surrounded by good story-tellers – “Generally speaking I find older folk are grateful and very appreciative of being able to share their lived experience.” Knowing her patients’ stories is her way to helping them. Dr Ward finds that it’s like being a detective – pulling all aspects of medicine and a person’s background together.
How is Facility Engagement making a difference?
Jun 26, 2020
A new publication brings together just a few of the many great examples of Facility Engagement activities across BC MSAs and health authorities. Each provides insights into engagement processes t
Vernon PQI project allows pediatric diabetes clinic to launch virtual consultations
Jun 26, 2020
Diabetes care for children is team-based, says Vernon general pediatrician Eiko Waida.
“There are a lot of people involved. We have the patient, the patient’s family, sometimes multiple families, the nurse, the dietician, administration, different pediatricians – industry is the other big thing. We have pump trainers out in the community. It’s a lot of players,” she explained.
Island Health PQI project aims to relieve the stress of pandemic health care workers
Jun 25, 2020
For health care providers, extreme stress is an expected side effect of working on the front lines during a pandemic. In addition to the stress of treating patients with so many unknowns, concerns about contracting the virus and spreading it to others is profound in the medical community.
Victoria psychiatrist Dr Joanna Cheek recognized early on that frontline workers would need a psychosocial response to this stress. Already working on a Physician-Led Quality Improvement (PQI) project, she was able to work with PQI manager Jennie Aitken to pivot, create a new team, and create a Stress First Aid and Peer Support virtual workshop that was supported by PQI and the Specialist Services Committee (SSC).
New COVID-19 Specialist Fee Codes
Mar 26, 2020
Effective March 27, 2020, the SSC has created two new fee codes to support COVID-19 related specialist work. These fees are temporary and are in addition to the fee codes that all physicians can benefit from. The new specialist fee codes include:
- 10007 Specialist Email/Text/Telephone Medical Advice Relay or ReRX Fee
- 10008 Urgent Specialist COVID-19 Advice - Initiated by a Specialist, General Practitioner or Health Care Practitioner.
Click here for more information on all the new COVID-19 Fee Codes. Billing and fee related inquiries can be emailed directly to: economics@doctorsofbc.ca
Temporary Freeze on Physician Leadership Scholarship Requests due to COVID-19
Mar 25, 2020
*We will be accepting applications for online courses until further notice.
Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a temporary freeze on receiving/approving any requests to the Physician Leadership Scholarship effective immediately until further notice.
BC’s Physician Quality Improvement Program showcased at IHI Conference
Feb 26, 2020
Every year, thousands of health care leaders and professionals around the world get together at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI)’s four-day conference in Orlando to connect about the future of health care improvement.
The most recent conference was held December 8-11, 2019 with 5,500 attendees from over 55 countries. As one of the most influential events in health care quality improvement worldwide, the Specialist Services Committee (SSC) was excited to be chosen amongst the tough competition to present a half-day workshop on BC’s Physician Quality Improvement Initiative (PQI).
Registration open for online course on Finding & Creating Joy in Work
Feb 26, 2020
Given the popularity of the course on Finding and Creating Joy in Work among the first and second contingent, the Specialist Services and Shared Care Committees via their Physician Leadership Program are once again sponsoring (covering the tuition costs of) Specialists and GPs in BC to participate in the course. This 12 week online course is being offered from March 11 to June 3 by the Institute for Health Care Improvement. Registration is open until March 11.
Introducing Ryan Murray – New SSC Co-chair
Feb 25, 2020
Ryan Murray is the new Co-Chair of the Specialist Services Committee (SSC) and brings to the role a wealth of experience from the Alberta Medical Association (AMA), the BC Ministry of Health, as we
Spotlight on a Specialist – Dr Andrew Gray
Feb 20, 2020
Dr Andrew Gray, a Medical Health Officer in Northern Health, attributes his pursuit of the Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialty to a desire for contributing to the well being of people,
Funding support for specialist involvement in PCN planning and implementation
Oct 4, 2019
In our continued commitment to support specialist involvement in local Divisions of Family Practice activities, we (the Specialist Services Committee) have expanded funding support to enable specia
PQI equips 27 health care professionals with quality improvement training and support
Oct 3, 2019
PQI recently celebrated 27 graduates in two health authorities and supported their quality improvement projects.
Patient Safety Drives PQI Project
Oct 1, 2019
When Dr James Reid, Head of Emergency Medicine at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), participated in Physician Quality Initiative (PQI) training, he didn’t know it would be the catalyst to make him a leader in change within Interior Health (IH). As part of the training, Dr Reid began looking at ways to reduce risk and increase patient safety during follow ups on emergency department (ED) patients’ lab tests and x-rays. His project led to innovative solutions and improved processes for a complex issue.
Spotlight on a Specialist – Dr Leena Jain
Sep 30, 2019
For Dr Leena Jain, a geriatrician at Fraser Health, becoming a doctor was like continuing her family legacy since her grandfather, father, both her siblings and her husband are all physicians. “My father never pushed me to become a doctor, but I saw the gratification in his eyes when he helped patients – they were so thankful to have been treated by him.”
SSC funding develops and grows physician leadership
Aug 29, 2019
The Specialist Services Committee recently undertook an evaluation of the Physician Leadership Program (PLP) to assess the impact that the program has had in developing the participant physicians’ leadership abilities. The PLP was developed in 2013 by UBC-Sauder, Vancouver Coastal Health and Provincial Health Services Authority, and is funded by the Shared Care Committee (SCC) and Specialist Services Committee (SSC).
Tackling physician burnout through Joy in Work
Aug 8, 2019
If you were eavesdropping on the informal chat of a room full of medical professionals, how often would the word ‘joy’ come up? While terms like ‘burnout’ and ‘overwork’ might pepper the conversation, ‘joy’ would likely be missing in action.
In order to initiate an understanding of the causes, implications and possible solutions to burnout among physicians, two joint collaborative committees of Doctors of BC and the BC government ─ the Specialist Services and Shared Care committees ─ sponsored the participation of 35 physicians in an online course called Joy in Work(link is external) (JIW). The program was offered by the Institute for Health Care Improvement and ran from March to June, 2019.
