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From the Primary Care Alliance
I wanted to take time this month to focus on the crucial role family medicine has played in the changing stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. When this started a year ago, it would have been impossible to predict the scale of change that primary care would undergo in response. Family physicians across the province dug in and engaged in rapid changes to their practices to best meet the needs of newly remote, isolated, and often frightened patients. In 12 short months we have made tremendous progress in areas of virtual care and team care and we have reevaluated how best to connect with, and care for our patients. Some of these changes are here to stay with patient care and critically, continuity of care improving because of it.
Family practices have been the cornerstone for patients during these trying times and additionally have the potential for an expanded role in the wake of the imminent vaccine rollout, a role family medicine is well-positioned to undertake. Physicians and practice teams can leverage their trusted relationships with patients to address concerns and reach out to them when they are eligible to receive the vaccine. There are supports available through a newly released toolkit that provides evidence, information, patient materials, videos, scripts, EMR tools and more. I would encourage you to Be a Vaccine Positive Clinic.
Changes brought on by the pandemic have impacted clinics in many areas. Since last November AMA has been offering a webinar series called “COVID Talks for Docs” aimed at helping you manage your practice in a rapidly changing environment.
In addition, if you would like to take advantage of the new opportunities in primary care by improving your leadership skills, consider participating in the Physician Champion Network and joining your peers for their next session on March 3.
Take care and stay safe,
Dr. Brad Bahler
Chair
Primary Care Alliance
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COVID Talks for Docs Webinar Series
This is the fifth webinar in a series on the care and management of COVID-19 patients in the community. This webinar has been designed to assist physicians in promoting self-care in a rapidly changing environment.
Read more about learning objectives and register to attend at the link below.
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Home to Hospital to Home transition improvements
A series of webinar recordings are now available that provide information about the Home to Hospital to Home Transitions initiative. Check out the orientation webinar which gives an overview of the newly released H2H2H Transitions Guideline.
Interested in measurement? Watch the H2H2H Transitions Measures webinar see how the implementation of the guideline may be measured.
Finally, to learn more about the links between H2H2H and CII/CPAR initiatives, how they create effective transitions of care and highlight the importance of information continuity, watch the recent Building Blocks to Successful Transitions of Care webinar hosted by the Alberta Medical Association Accelerating Change Transformation Team and AHS.
Read more at the link below about work underway to support improvements in transitions in care. |
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CII/CPAR eNotification leads to better outcome during COVID-19
For Edmonton family physician Dr. Janet Craig, eNotifications provided to her electronic medical record through her participation in the Community Information Integration/Central Patient Attachment Registry (CII/CPAR) initiative have provided potentially life-saving impacts to her patients.
Early in 2021, a patient of Dr. Craig’s entered an emergency department with respiratory issues. He was discharged and sent home. What happened next is inspiring.
Listen at the link below as Dr. Craig tells her story. |
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Hassle Free CME - The ACFP's Family Medicine Summit
There is still time to register for the 66th Family Medicine Summit. Don’t miss your chance and take in the fantastic primary health care tailored program. You can save $50.00 by using this last chance to register promo code: SummitBound. The code expires February 28.
This one-credit-per-hour program has been certified by the College of a Family Physicians of Canada for up to 12.75 Mainpro+ credits.
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Visit the AHS COVID-19 Community Physicians webpage
The AHS COVID-19 Information for Community Physicians webpage contains up-to-date information on COVID-19. There is information on COVID-19 specific to community specialist physicians and community primary care physicians, and their teams. It shares the latest evidence and contains information on immunizations, patient care, testing, and more. Learn more by visiting the website.
Does the integration of cancer clinical care pathways in primary care pique your interest? If so EnACT wants your input!
Dr. Lee Green leads the Enhancing Alberta Primary Care Research Networks (EnACt) research team, which is conducting a qualitative research study seeking to understand how family physicians think about and approach the use of Clinical Pathways for Cancer Diagnosis in their practice. This knowledge will inform how to better integrate co-developed (primary and specialty care) pathways into primary care physicians’ workflow. Your involvement includes a one-hour, virtual interview to know more about your approach and thinking when using (or not using) Cancer Clinical Pathways. It also includes completing a brief demographics questionnaire; taking less than five minutes. Honorariums will be offered. Contact Lynn Toon for more information.
2021 ACFP Clinical Connections Conference webinars
The next session in the final five webinars remaining in the ACFP’s Clinical Connections Series is coming Mar. 18. Learn about team-based back pain management, appropriate prescribing for the elderly, screening tools for diabetes complications, lung testing, and building connections for aging well. Register for ACFP's Clinical Connections.
Call to Action for Primary Care and Community Providers: Connect Care Identifiers and Wave Sequencing Update
Connect Care launches Wave 3 at sites in the former Peace Region of North Zone on April 10. All community providers in Alberta need to take action so that laboratory, diagnostic imaging, and other investigation results and reports are delivered to their office. Connect Care identifiers have been distributed to providers and clinics. Please:
- Use Connect Care identifiers on requisitions
- Use updated requisitions to order laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging
Connect Care has adjusted some planned Wave launch dates to accommodate pandemic pressures, however the commitment to Connect Care has not changed and its successful implementation remains a priority for Albert Health Services. Access the resources you need at ahs.ca/ccproviderbridge. Email ccproviderbridge@ahs.ca with questions and update your provider information with AHS by emailing ahsprovider.requests@ahs.ca.
Cognitive screening changes and survey
AHS is moving away from using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which means a shift in practice for some healthcare providers. This comes in response to a best-practices review following changes to MoCA requirements. Based on this review and through extensive consultation, six screening tools have been identified as suitable alternatives. See the Cognitive Screening AHS webpage for more information.
AHS Provincial Cognitive Screening Implementation Committee is looking for primary care provider input through a short survey to help them understand if these tools are being implemented in practices and what additional supports are needed. The survey results will be shared with clinicians and leaders and used for planning of future communication and learning activities. The survey closes Mar. 1. Email practice.consultation@ahs.ca with questions.
eReferral consult request updates for Edmonton Zone Urology
On Jan. 28, Incontinence was re-added as an Edmonton Zone Urology Consult Request reason for referral. In addition, changes were made to the requirements when creating a Urology Consult Request for Hematuria microscopic (greater than 3 rbc/hpf) and Peyronies Disease reasons for referral. For these important updates, please visit the Health Services Catalogue from the eReferral menu in Alberta Netcare. For more information visit eReferral.
Edmonton Zone patients receiving automated calls to validate surgical waitlists
An autodialer initiative is underway in the AHS Edmonton Zone to update surgical waitlists. Patients listed for surgery with plastic, vascular, orthopedic, ear/nose/throat (ENT) and otolaryngology surgeons in the zone will receive an automated phone call or voicemail from the AHS Surgery Waitlist Management Team. Through this initiative, AHS is contacting up to 350 patients per day. The first phase of this pilot reduced the surgical waitlist in the pilot departments by 5.6 per cent. For more information and a full script of the automated call, visit ahs.ca/waitlist.
Celebrate your colleagues - 2021 ACFP Awards
Honour the exceptional family physicians, clinics, residents, and medical students, who advance excellence in family medicine and contribute to the health of communities across Alberta. Nominate a colleague or peer today! Deadline is Apr. 1.
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