News
December 19, 2023
A revolutionary approach to health care is gaining recognition at the Murrayville Family Practice Group in Langley. A collaborative team of eight family physicians, three nurse practitioners, three registered nurses, and a clinical pharmacist works cohesively to offer timely and comprehensive medical services for the group, which has offices in Murrayville and Willoughby. Colin Fee, a clinical pharmacist with four years of experience at the practice, plays a crucial role on the team.
December 18, 2023
The Family Practice Services Committee (FPSC) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year following a series of programs and initiatives that have changed the way patient care is provided across the province. FPSC – formerly the General Practices Services Committee – began in 2003 as a trial project bringing the medical association and the government together to improve patient care and draw more physicians to family practice amid concerns of low pay, morale, and job dissatisfaction.
December 15, 2023
Dr Shireen Alam suspected the rates of mental health diagnoses had risen during the first few years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her clinic, the Shelbourne Family Practice & Maternity in Victoria, decided to investigate during recent panel management. Erika Patterson, a panel coach with the Family Practices Services Committee (FPSC), discovered many patients had been coded with a generic health diagnosis, and not flagged for mental health. Once the coding was corrected, the clinic’s mental health numbers skyrocketed.
November 23, 2023
On October 24, 2023, more than 350 primary care leaders from across the province came together at the FPSC Primary Care Partners Event in Vancouver to:
October 30, 2023
Dr Francis Vala, a family physician and bariatrician based in New Westminster, recently made a return to family medicine after closing his practice in 2018 and spending five years focusing solely on obesity medicine. The new Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) payment model was a major catalyst for his return to family medicine. Dr Vala signed up for the LFP Payment Model in February 2023, and he says the new model’s advantages support him in providing the level of patient care he is committed to as a family physician—“There are expectations, ethical and moral.”