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Have family physicians been consulted?

May 15, 2017
  • As part of our program consultation process, we’ve talked with close to 200 family physicians over the past year.
  • Through a combination of group sessions and interviews, you gave us your ideas and priorities for FPNs in NL.
  • You told us you are challenged in meeting increased demand for patient care services, both in relation to patient volume as well of complexity of care. You talked specifically about:
    • Supporting patients with mental health issues and chronic diseases
    • Care of older adults, especially the frail elderly
    • The worsening problem of chronic opioid use
    • Meeting patient access needs
    • Lack of supports for team-based approaches to care
    • Managing administrative responsibilities/workload
    • Lack of communication with your Regional Health Authorities (RHAs)
    • Lack of consultation with family physicians in decisions that affect community family practice

You see FPNs as providing opportunities for:

    • Improved working relationships amongst family physicians, and between family physicians and other providers
    • Team-based approaches to care & sharing of resources
    • Cross-referral to other family physicians with different skill sets
    • Improving physician recruitment and retention, as well as locum coverage
    • Access to, and knowledge of, community resources
    • Better communication and collaboration with the Regional Health Authorities
    • A collective voice in decisions involving community family practice