PG Docs Join New Initiative

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. - It's called divisions of family practice and Prince George is one of the first three communities in British Columbia to take part.

Health Services Minister George Abbott says it's an innovative initiative that supports groups of doctors in working together to discuss common issues, promote and support family practice, and address gaps in patient care.

"In 2005, approximately 1,000 GPs from around B.C. had the opportunity to get together to discuss the challenges facing full service family practice in this province.  The creation of divisions addresses many concerns raised by these physicians and will help to establish a more formal infrastructure to support doctors who wish to work together to achieve improved professional satisfaction and provide the best possible patient care."

Division membership is open to all family practitioners within a defined community and may include physicians who provide full service care, walk-in clinic services and specialized services, like obstetrics or emergency room medicine.

Dr. Dan Horvat, chair of the Prince George division of family practice, says family doctors have faced significantly increased pressures over the last number of years.

"The development of the division of family practice in Prince George is an excellent opportunity for local family physicians to be more directly involved with determining how they, in collaboration with others, can better meet the needs of the citizens of Prince George."

Each division of family practice will be set up as a society and members will work with the local health authority and community agencies through a collaborative services committee. The committee will be co-chaired by a member of the division and by a health authority representative, and will work with its members to develop and implement solutions to
region-specific issues affecting the delivery of health services at the community level.

The physicians working within the Prince George division of family practice have selected three priority areas to focus on including the creation of a program to address the needs of patients who do not have a family physician and improving family physician coverage in hospital and long term care facilities.

The General Practice Services Committee, a joint committee of the Ministry of Health Services, the BC Medical Association and the Society of General Practitioners of BC, has allocated $6 million in funding for the annual operational costs of divisions of family practice.

Once Prince George and the two other divisions are set up, the General Practice Services Committee will begin talks with doctors in other interested communities.

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