August 23, 2021 | The BC Ministry of Health released an update with information on the 2021-22 influenza immunization program and an accompanying Q&A. Last year, 1.5 million influenza vaccine doses were administered amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 29, 2021 | The FPSC is launching a new program to train medical office staff to implement panel management and assist family practice teams in providing proactive and preventative care for their patients. This program builds off the success of the training pilot program held in the spring where 100% of participants agree or strongly agree that “the course will make me more effective at supporting the clinic team.”
May 4, 2021 | Earlier this year, doctors received the inaugural print issue of Collaborate on Health in BC magazine with their Jan/Feb issue of the BC Medical Journal.
This new magazine focuses on doctors who worked with health care partners to champion and innovate ways to deliver the best care to patients across BC in 2020 –all while navigating the unusual and challenging times during a global health pandemic.
Featured stories include:
May 3, 2021 | In June 2020, the Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice established the Sunshine Coast Opioid Overdose Prevention Task Force using Shared Care Committee funding from their addictions project. The Task Force’s goal is managing the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the community’s overdose crisis and destigmatizing opioid use through increased public awareness.
March 8, 2021 | The Doctors of BC podcast, DocTalks, recently featured Surrey-North Delta Division member Dr Lawrence Yang talking with psychiatrist Dr Jennifer Russel about how the COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented demands on doctors, resulting in increasing reports of burnout.
The following Ministry of Health memo was shared with health authorities, divisions and MSAS on November 18, 2020.
In recognition of additional planning work required to action the Ministry of Health’s Management of COVID-19 Health Sector Plan for Fall/Winter 2020/21 (http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/COVID-19_fall-winter_preparation.pdf), released in September 2020, the Ministry of Health is providing funding for physician time spent on associated planning activities.
November 13, 2020 | We recently updated styles on the divisions website to improve accessibility for visitors with visual impairments. To do this, we listened to divisions’ feedback, did a website audit, reviewed best practices, and identified solutions that bring us closer to a website more inclusive to users of all abilities.
Here are the website style changes:
November 5, 2020 | Approximately two-thirds of family doctors in BC have already signed up to list their profiles on the Pathways Medical Care Directory (previously called the Pathways Virtual Care Directory).
October 23, 2020 | The FPSC plays an important role in advocating for and supporting partnerships on the ground, so that family doctors and divisions can collaborate successfully with health authorities, resulting in better care for patients.
October 21, 2020 | With many community doctors turning to virtual care to keep patients and staff safe during the pandemic, one of the questions raised was: “What can we do to help vulnerable patients who don’t have access to technology?”