Manage your patient panel

Updated November 15, 2024

Applications now open for panel management training for medical office staff! Apply here.

What is panel management?

Panel management is a process of proactively managing a defined population of patients, using EMR (electronic medical record) data to identify and respond to patients’ chronic and preventative care needs. The concept is simple: better information about patients leads to better care for patients.

The phases of panel management are a framework designed to support physicians in providing longitudinal, proactive care to patients. An accurate panel means physicians can easily track billings, improve workflows, improve communications with patients, and maintain a better work-life balance.

Panel management helps physicians:

• Improve patient care and workflow efficiency through improve EMR processes.

• Identify resource needs to help family doctors care for their patients.

• Inform and plan proactive and preventative care.

Panel management has three phases:

1. Empanelment assigns patients to individual primary care providers. Having an accurate list of active patients for each provider improves continuity of care and enables population-based care.

2. Panel clean-up involves creating registries that accurately reflect all patients within the panel who have a specific diagnosis and are properly coded with the correct ICD-9 code.

3. Panel optimization involves using updated data to implement proactive care goals using decision support tools in the EMR.

Practice support coaches can create and support manageable steps to help physicians optimize their EMR data as they work through the phases of panel management.

How do I get started?

Contact your practice support coach, or email us at psp@doctorsofbc.ca, or submit a service request here and get started.

How long does panel management take?

Each phase could take up to 15 hours of physician or staff time to complete. The total time commitment may be up to 12 months.

For resources, webinar details, and information regarding submission of panel data for the Longitudinal Family Practice payment model, please click here.

Sign up for training on panel management

Panel Management Small Group Learning Sessions

These sessions provide a group setting where PSP Practice Improvement Coaches lead family physicians through the phases of panel management. EMR-specific sessions will be offered for Oscar, TELUS MedAccess, Intrahealth Profile, and MOIS.

• Read more about Panel Management Small Group Learning Sessions.

Panel Management for Family Practice program through the University of the Fraser Valley

FPSC offers medical office staff the opportunity to take this program, which consists of seven modules with a final capstone quality improvement project implemented in-practice. The program offers practical, skills-based training designed to meet the competencies of a panel manager including; basics of the patient medical home and primary care network, empanelment, registry-based care, and pro-active and preventative care.

The program runs two cohorts per year with start dates in September and January. For more information, email us at psp@doctorsofbc.ca.

Panel management training for medical office staff: Applications open.

FPSC is now accepting applications for medical office staff to take the Panel Management for Family Practice program through the University of Fraser Valley. We are offering a winter cohort in 2025. The program consists of five modules with a final quality improvement project implemented in-practice. It offers practical, skills-based training designed to meet the competencies of a panel manager, including basics of the patient medical home and primary care network, empanelment, registry-based care, and proactive and preventative care.

Course dates: January 30, 2025–April 24, 2025

Applications close: December 19, 2024.
Registration link: Click here to apply.