President's Letter June 26, 2009

 


June 26, 2009.

Dear Section Members,

It is time for another update of what the executive has been doing on your behalf.  Below, I have summarized some of the recent developments and work being done.

Relationship between Hospitalists and the Society of General Practice (SGP)

/> The relationship between our Section and the SGP continues to evolve in a positive direction. I have attended the SGP board meetings in January, April and June as a non-voting member. This opportunity has helped to open lines of communication between our Section and the SGP. Through open communication, both our Section and the SGP have benefitted from each other’s insight and advice. The members of the SGP board have been very supportive of further developing our relationship and have shown genuine interest in the issues concerning the Section of Hospital Medicine.  Further developing this relationship and collaborating with the SGP will improve our chance of having hospitalists’ voices heard within the structure of the BCMA. A significant development to come out of this relationship was that the SGP board nominated me as a representative on the BCMA Alternate Payment Physicians Issues Committee. I believe committee work is one avenue for hospitalists to be heard within the BCMA and I hope to make a positive contribution to this committee on behalf of all GP’s who are on alternate payment agreements.

Divisions of Family Practice
By now, I am sure many of you may have heard of a new evolving entity called Divisions of Family Practice. This is a new initiative in primary care delivery. It is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the Health Authorities and the BCMA. There is some basic overview information on the BCMA website www.bcma.org if you search under divisions. I would recommend all hospitalists review this information. Divisions of Family Practice may impact the hospitalists’ role in some communities, and they may also provide some interesting opportunities for hospitalists. It is important that we stay informed of the development of Divisions. You may receive an invitation to attend an information session on Divisions in your community in the near future. If so, I would encourage you to attend to better understand how divisions might be incorporated into primary care delivery in your community.
Provincial Review Process on Workload (PRP)
The Provincial Review Process on Workload is due to receive the external consultant’s report on workload on June 26th. Once the PRP committee has had a chance to review the report, information should be available to the Section Executive and then the Section members. I ensure that when any significant outcome regarding workload is available I will communicate this to Section members as soon as possible.
Section Annual General Meeting
The BC Section of Hospital Medicine has always held its AGM in the fall during the Canadian Hospitalist Conference. Given that this conference will be held in Toronto this year, the executive has decided to organize a one day meeting in Vancouver this fall. This meeting will serve as a CME event for hospitalists as well as well as an opportunity to hold the Section AGM. The date tentatively set aside is Saturday November 28th.
The CME portion of the event will focus on the theme of hospitalists becoming leaders in quality improvement. The executive feels that a quality improvement agenda is critical to the future of hospital medicine and as a Section we need to move forward with a provincial strategy for hospitalists to become leaders in quality improvement. The CME event will be open to all physicians practicing hospital medicine in BC.  In organizing the event we will keep the cost minimal, have the event eligible for CME credits and have a social dinner for all hospitalists in the evening. We hope to have attendance from as many BC hospitalists as possible so that we can continue to strengthen the community of hospitalists in BC.
The AGM portion of the day will come in the afternoon, after the CME event and before the dinner. This meeting will be open to all BC Section of Hospital Medicine members. At this meeting we will discuss the section business, review the budget and hold elections for the new Section Executive for 2010. In preparation for executive elections, I would ask all hospitalists to consider colleagues to nominate for positions on the executive. It is important for the health of the section and the hospitalist movement in BC to have input from many different hospitalists representing all areas of the province. The positions on the executive up for election each year include: president elect, treasurer, secretary, and two members at large. Over the summer please consider whether you are interested in becoming involved or nominating one of your colleagues who is interested in being involved. If you have any questions about the work involved in being on the executive please feel free to contact me.
Accreditation
There have been a number of meetings between representatives of the Canadian Society of Hospital Medicine and the Canadian College of Family Physicians discussing the development of an accreditation system for hospitalists in Canada. This work is in its early stages and more information will be forthcoming as progress is made.
Other Business
The Canadian Hospitalist Conference will be held in Toronto September 25-27, 2009. If you would like more information on the conference or to register,visit www.canadianhospitalist.ca . If you have any questions regarding this update or other issues pertaining to the BC Section of Hospital medicine, please contact me at [email protected] . Have a safe and enjoyable summer!


Sincerely,

Dr. Rod Tukker
President BC Section of Hospital Medicine