Leaders of the CFPC meet in Saint John, NB

Cal Gutkin

From May 28 through June 3, the fine seaport city of Saint John, NB, on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy welcomed the CFPC Board and its guests for an important series of meetings.

An invitational symposium was hosted by the New Brunswick College of Family Physicians called “Bridging the Gap in Establishing the Patient’s Medical Home” (PMH). Presenters included leaders from the CFPC, the NB Chapter, the NB Medical Society, the NB Health Council, and the NB Primary Healthcare Steering Committee. The PMH model was seen as critical to the future of primary care, especially the core elements of each patient having a personal family physician, team-based care, timely access, and the need for system-linked electronic medical records in every practice.
Leadership development and media training were offered for recently elected Chapter executive members.
Chapter leaders met to establish an inventory of the activities and resources of each Chapter in order to ensure optimal Chapter effectiveness across the country.
A day was spent on developing the College’s new strategic plan for 2013 to 2015 for presentation at the annual Board meeting in November.
Meetings of the College’s Executive Committee and the Board of Directors took place.

Highlights of Board deliberations included the following.

The College now has almost 27 000 members, with continued growth and minimal attrition across the country. Regular member surveys are being implemented to help us determine member satisfaction and to shape future policies and activities. Member recognition programs have been augmented, including an increased menu of opportunities for awards, grants, and scholarships offered through the Research and Education Foundation.
Discussion of the PMH continued. Stakeholders across Canada have extended numerous invitations for CFPC leaders to present and discuss the PMH proposal. A PMH steering committee to oversee and monitor PMH policies and activities was established to be chaired by Past President Dr Robert Boulay with Vice Chair Dr Rob Wedel. A 5-year PMH strategic plan is being developed.
More than 1200 members from large and small communities have already expressed interest in participating in 1 or more of the 16 programs approved by our Board as part of the new Section of Family Physicians with Special Interests or Focused Practices. Each program has a committee with a mandate to develop networking, advocacy, and continuing professional development opportunities for those who share similar practice interests. A few groups might pursue application for accredited added skills training or practice-eligible pathways to recognition of added competencies. The prime objective of this new section is to bring special interests back into the spectrum of broad-scope family practice and to reverse the trend of the past few decades that saw many family doctors restricting their practices to specific areas of interest. While some will always have to limit their practices in response to community needs, our goal is to see most family physicians incorporate special interests as part of broader-scope practice.
The Board approved a committee to oversee the activity of the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network—an exciting CFPC-led initiative, supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada, which involves extracting data on chronic diseases from the electronic medical records of family practices across Canada.
The Board received the progress report of another joint initiative of the CFPC and the Public Health Agency of Canada, “Prevention in Hand”—an online chronic disease prevention tool kit that will be launched at Family Medicine Forum in Toronto, Ont, in November.
Progress reports were also received on the following:
- -changes to Mainpro standards being developed by our Continuing Professional Development Committee;
- -the new CFPC Certification Examination in Family Medicine to be launched in 2013, which will be harmonized with the Medical Council of Canada Part II Examination, enabling candidates to save time and money by completing both examinations at once;
- -the Future of Medical Education in Canada: Post Graduate project and the CFPC’s Triple C Competency–based Curriculum; and
- -the work of the task force examining the CFPC’s relationship with the pharmaceutical industry.
Upcoming meetings include an invitational colloquium with the CFPC, Canadian Medical Association, and Royal College in September to examine the challenges related to the referral-consultation process involving family physicians and other specialists; and Family Medicine Forum 2012, November 15 to 17, in Toronto.
A motion was approved stating that the CFPC opposes the federal government’s cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program, which deny refugees timely access to health care, and recommending this decision be reversed.