July

Residents of our long-term care homes are remarkable people. They have marched with Tommy Douglas, piloted Lancaster bombers in the Second World War, raised children and grandchildren. Now their race is run, and too frail to remain at home they’ve entered long-term care. Most are close to the end of their days, and the average length of stay in a care home is now 18 to 21 months.

College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC Library services and resources are eligible for continuing professional development credits through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) Maintenance of Certification Program (Mainport system) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Mainpro+ system. 

In audits, as well as at the Reference Committee, we often see physicians using inappropriate fee codes when there isn’t a fee item that fits the work they are doing. This may occur in relation to infrequently performed procedures for which a fee code has not been established, or when there has been a change in the standard of care. In these cases, practitioners usually unilaterally choose what they believe is a similar or related fee code, and the tendancy is to choose the fee code that pays the higher amount. This is referred to as “upcoding.” 

Between November 2016 and March 2017 more than 400 individuals across Canada developed norovirus gastroenteritis associated with the consumption of BC oysters. Over 100 cases occurred mid-November in participants at a Tofino oyster festival. Six cases occurred in persons attending a December oyster barbecue in Victoria. By March over 300 additional cases of norovirus linked to cultivated BC oysters harvested from multiple sites on both the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island were identified in BC, Alberta, and Ontario consumers. 

Findings from the National Health Services in the UK[1] suggest there is a need for transformational, widespread health care reform to address the problems of constantly growing demands and limited resources. This reform will come, in part, from health care professionals sharing what we learn as we “work smarter, not harder.” An example of this can be seen in suggestions from young adult patients presenting to a university health services clinic.