From the Primary Care Alliance

Note: Primary Care News is being published early due to the holiday period.

2023 can perhaps be best noted as a year of many challenges in the primary care system, but also one with some sense of hope. It’s important to acknowledge the struggle of physicians and their teams with workload and burnout and commend their efforts and commitments to patient care in the midst of such a difficult environment.

Thank you for all that you do and continue to do!

In keeping with the spirit of the season, the Primary Care Alliance looks forward with hope of progress in 2024 in part because of significant planned improvements in primary care.

On behalf of PCA, Accelerating Change Transformation Team, Alberta Medical Association, and the editorial contributors to this newsletter, we wish you and your family all the best for a safe, peaceful holiday season and a happy, healthy New Year in 2024!

Emergency patient care benefits from CII/CPAR

When physicians use CII/CPAR (Community Information Integration & Central Patient Attachment Registry) to connect to Alberta Netcare, they equip other providers with lifesaving information, no matter where they are in Alberta. Emergency department physician, Dr. Peter Rawlek, knows how important it is to have patient information available in times of crisis:

“Having access to a community physician’s report on Netcare makes a world of difference when we are in emergency. We can formulate a plan that’s in the patient’s best interest when we have a comprehensive view of how the different specialties have been providing care. Nothing can replace that knowledge.” - Dr. Peter Ralek

Sign up now and note that physicians are also eligible for funds from the $12 million CII/CPAR Acceleration Grant. Connect with the Accelerating Change Transformation Team today (link below).

Contact ACTT

Nominate Your Colleague for the 2024 ACFP Awards

Honour the incredible contributions, leadership, and commitment of your ACFP peers by nominating them for an ACFP Award! The 2024 ACFP Awards Call for Nominations is now open. If you know a colleague who has shown exceptional work in family medicine, submit your nominations by April 1, 2024.

Learn more

2024 Family Medicine Summit Spotlight: Virtual keynote speaker Dr. Gabor Maté

The Alberta College of Family Physicians and its Summit Scientific Planning Committee are excited to announce Dr. Gabor Maté as Sunday’s closing keynote speaker.

Registrants will learn how to recognize major stressors, apply strategies to transform stressful work environments, and identify the role of compassion and self-awareness as tools for recovery and healing.

As a bonus, use the promo code PCA224 to save $75.00 off your in-person registration*!

*discounts cannot be combined and do not apply to learners or research rates

Learn more

Are you interested in shared care planning with complex patients?

One:carepath is a provincial research study that takes a proactive and co-managed approach to care planning with patients who have advanced/decompensated/non-curative COPD, heart failure, cirrhosis, kidney disease, and stage three or four solid organ cancers.

The focus is on integrating supportive care in the Patient’s Medical Home.

Learn more about participating in the study at the link below.

Learn more

Other news

STI screening resource available

Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, have been increasing over the last decade and continue to present significant public health concerns in Alberta. Primary care providers looking for the most up-to-date resources can view Alberta Health’s Interim STI Outbreak Screening Guidelines.

Alberta Pathways Hub

The provincial central location for trusted, evidence-informed clinical, patient and referral pathways, the Hub is maintained by the Provincial Pathways Unit (PPU). The PPU is requesting assistance from primary care providers in reviewing the pathway below – please email your feedback to AlbertaPathways@ahs.ca.

Provincial Head & Neck Cancer Diagnosis & Referral Pathway – A new referral pathway developed by patient advisors and leaders from medicine, dentistry, primary care, research, and quality improvement to streamline and align processes, improve the appropriateness of diagnostic testing, and improve the timing of referrals to specialty care.

Other pathways
Non-Obstructing Kidney Stone Clinical and Patient Pathway - A new clinical and patient pathway developed provincially by primary care physicians, urologists, and patient and family advisors.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Testing Primary Care Pathway - Based on the current Canadian Urological Association recommendations, a new clinical pathway has been developed to provide guidance on asymptomatic routine PSA testing in the Primary Care setting in Alberta.

Explore more pathways at albertapathways.ca.

Vascular surgery joins FAST

Vascular surgery joined the Facilitated Access to Specialized Treatment (FAST) central access and intake program province wide. Through FAST, referring providers can choose a next-available provider with the shortest wait time, a specific clinic/provider/site, or an out of zone provider.
Tools to support vascular surgery referrals have been created to support referring providers, including:

New Lower Limb Ischemia clinical pathway – Use as a first step to see if your patient’s condition can be managed in the medical home before a referral is required.
New Provincial Adult Vascular Surgery Referral Pathway – If a referral is necessary, reference this document for mandatory information to include with your referral.
New vascular surgery referral form – Use this form when submitting vascular referrals through FAST. Referral form will be added to EMRs in the coming months.

More information on FAST.

Update: Respiratory virus immunization

The Government of Canada’s FluWatch report notes that 98 per cent of influenza-associated hospitalizations across Canada are associated with influenza A (H1N1), with adults aged 65 and older accounting for only 30 percent of reported hospitalizations.

Alberta influenza modeling is signaling that the peak in adults will occur over the Christmas break. The severity of the H1N1 strain, highlights the importance of immunization. Individuals six months of age and older are eligible for both the influenza vaccine and the updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Resources for community providers:

Alberta Medical Association
12230 106 Ave NW, Edmonton AB T5N 3Z1
T 780.482.2626 | TF 1.800.272.9680
F 780.482.5445
www.albertadoctors.org
primarycarealliance@albertadoctors.org