Family Doctors for Patient Care in BC

I’m running in to challenges with more and more patients unable to afford basic costs. They then can’t pay or don’t file their taxes. It makes them ineligible for pharmacare benefits. Obviously no way they can afford medication if they are in this situation. All their essential medications just stop. Food and rent are coming before basic medical care. The problem is that then the patient gets medically sicker. They need more expensive care or need to come to hospital. Ultimately it’s worse for them as a patient. It’s worse for an overloaded health system. It’s worse for tax payers.

"An elderly man was discovered around 3:45 a.m. Thursday in critical condition lying on the ground at the hospital doors and had to be taken by ambulance to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, 85 kms away." What is the HA or @adriandix responses? @jyduclos vancouversun.com/health/local-h…

@picardonhealth @cbcwhitecoat @NightShiftMD With better primary care, it’s well established that there would be less reliance on emergency departments and hospitals. Upstream is where the investment must start- and it is lower cost to do. Also, need Less HC admin in Canada - more front line investments.

Emergency rooms in crisis: Canada’s emergency departments are overflowing and, in some cases, closing. Will care be available when you need it? cbc.ca/listen/live-ra… via @cbcwhitecoat @NightShiftMD

@joshuapliu @CMA_Docs Agree. There’s also a time and season to change, times when we can accelerate the speed of change. Elections Shared crises Cultural shifts Economic peaks and valleys Really high or low social cohesion Etc We need prepare ourselves to take advantage of these moments.

@john_soles @AlikaMD @CMA_Docs So true.

@AlikaMD @CMA_Docs Those actively involved are often worn out by the inertia of government, health care, educational, and, too often, physician organizations. These same organizations have also seemed reluctant to acknowledge the breadth and depth of the problem. This was all predictable years ago.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as President of @cma_docs this past year, it’s that we have a lot of folks who are extremely good at describing the problems with Canadian Healthcare, but much less proportionally, who are actively involved in solving them. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Dix says they’ll be making quarterly reports starting in Nov about how many patients have been matched to available docs/NPs @DoctorsOfBC says a “large number of doctors” have joined or returned to family practice but “Results won’t happen overnight”

I feel like we are in a twilight zone... these words were uttered from Dix's mouth in June 2022 when he said he would provide quarterly reports for staffing and attachments at UPCCs. Then NEVER did! @BC_GP_Shortage @BCFamilyDoctors @Docs4BC @DoctorsOfBC @RobShaw_BC

My family and I always look forward to @GreekSummerFest and this year did not disappoint! 🍽️ Vancouver foodie alert: I recommend the authentic Greek frappe, roast lamb, and loukoumades 🥤 The diverse dance and musical groups are fantastic 👏

That's right, over 30 !!! Electornic medical record systems. This is no investment to be proud of. This is creating silos of patient information. We need: info sharing b/w HAs + patient & physician access to all records. @adriandix @DoctorsOfBC @BC_GP_Shortage @BCCFP

Another expensive bandaid that is drought with severe issues! @adriandix @shirleybond

"You feel like dying after a shift at Surrey Memorial because things are so bad,” one doctor said. "...doctors at the hospitals needing help feel shafted because they’re doing the same work and not getting the extra incentives." 💥Govt creating rifts vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/06/29/fra…

It's time for British Columbians to demand that our government responsibly manages our healthcare system. As citizens we have the power to achieve the change we need. To do so, choose to make healthcare your #1 priority. @bcpoli bchealthcarematters.com/under-the-micr…

Exhausted parents, I ❤️ you. We need each other more than ever. As caregivers we research, schedule + worry. We battle medical bureaucracy, government gatekeepers + discrimination. We are levelled by depression, anxiety + isolation. Many parents are in financial ruin. #bcpoli

Agree w Dr. Daniel Jenkin that any discussion of wait lists for procedures and operations should actually start with waits for medical imaging because of the cascading effect the radiology shortage and delays have on downstream healthcare. @BCRadSoc

Months after they warned that waits for critical medical imaging were worsening and could lead to a “tsunami of cancer cases.” B.C.'s radiologists say private clinics doing half the screening are so underfunded they may shut down. bc.ctvnews.ca/radiologists-w…

@JoshGreggain @DoctorsOfBC Hoping the vision. Includes dismantling of the “collaborative tables” of silence and government control.

NEW: Up to 1 in 10 people going to a Metro Vancouver emergency dept leave without being seen It used to be under 3% The record-high rate is being driven by excessive waits for hospital care as some patients just give up @CTVVancouver #bcpoli bc.ctvnews.ca/record-high-ra…

Put a supraglottic device in until more expereinced laryngoscopist is available. If it became required to intubate... a curved blade was not going to get the job done. Nor was a video laryngoscope (blood in airway). Had to be a straight blade with a bougie for this one, or a blind technique (light wand, intubating LMA, etc).