It has been almost a year since Health PEI decided not to consider a pilot scheme to keep the Phoenix Medical Practice going. Since then, no progress has been made in PEI with collaborative care for family doctors. However, the predicted financial problems have begun to bite with announcements of the needs for large cuts in health spending in real terms.
At the Phoenix Medical Practice, we developed a model of care in which the physician was helped by Practice Nurses and Health Care Technicians who prepared patients to see the doctor, documented the encounter, and prepared prescriptions, tests, and referrals that the doctor recommended. The Practice Nurses and Practice Pharmacist also saw patients for chronic disease reviews, lifestyle advice, and medication reviews.
This week The New England Journal of Medicine 200th Anniversary Article is "The Evolving Primary Care Physician"* written by clinical assistant professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC.
The article discusses the rise of technology and data collection as a large part of family practice and described a project sponsored by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation.
"I think two thirds of many physicians' days are spent on documentation, administrative tasks, paperwork completion, rote inbox management, data gathering, and data entry", says Dr Sinsky, one of two physicians carrying out the project.
The article continues: "Sinksy noted that some innovative practices have responded by assigning much of the responsibility for data entry to other staff members. For example, on one more collaborative model of care, a nurse or medical assistant accompanies the physician on each visit and enters the finding and treatment plan into the computer, and prepares prescriptions and instructions for the patient."
It then goes on to describe a solo internist in North Carolina, Dr Douglas Kelling, who developed a team-based model for his practice that involved two physicians, six physician assistants, two pharmacists, and other team members such as a case worker and discharge planner. He was able to greatly increase the number of patients he was able to care for the and improve the quality of that care.
So, we now have validation of the precise model we developed for PEI. From a respected professor of Primary Care at one of the most respected medical schools in North America, writing in the world's most prestigious medical journal. That model is now being developed and expanded elsewhere in North America and is being held up as the future of primary care. That model was already working on PEI, could have been expanded easily, and would have saved large numbers of lives and dollars for PEI. It would have put PEI on the map for being at the cutting edge of primary care, not just in Canada but in North America.
The effects of the loss of the Phoenix Medical Practice and it's successful model of care will continue to be felt in PEI for decades to come.
* "The Evolving Primary Care Physician", Susan Okie, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine, May 17, 2012, Vol 366, No 20
At the Phoenix Medical Practice, we developed a model of care in which the physician was helped by Practice Nurses and Health Care Technicians who prepared patients to see the doctor, documented the encounter, and prepared prescriptions, tests, and referrals that the doctor recommended. The Practice Nurses and Practice Pharmacist also saw patients for chronic disease reviews, lifestyle advice, and medication reviews.
This week The New England Journal of Medicine 200th Anniversary Article is "The Evolving Primary Care Physician"* written by clinical assistant professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC.
The article discusses the rise of technology and data collection as a large part of family practice and described a project sponsored by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation.
"I think two thirds of many physicians' days are spent on documentation, administrative tasks, paperwork completion, rote inbox management, data gathering, and data entry", says Dr Sinsky, one of two physicians carrying out the project.
The article continues: "Sinksy noted that some innovative practices have responded by assigning much of the responsibility for data entry to other staff members. For example, on one more collaborative model of care, a nurse or medical assistant accompanies the physician on each visit and enters the finding and treatment plan into the computer, and prepares prescriptions and instructions for the patient."
It then goes on to describe a solo internist in North Carolina, Dr Douglas Kelling, who developed a team-based model for his practice that involved two physicians, six physician assistants, two pharmacists, and other team members such as a case worker and discharge planner. He was able to greatly increase the number of patients he was able to care for the and improve the quality of that care.
So, we now have validation of the precise model we developed for PEI. From a respected professor of Primary Care at one of the most respected medical schools in North America, writing in the world's most prestigious medical journal. That model is now being developed and expanded elsewhere in North America and is being held up as the future of primary care. That model was already working on PEI, could have been expanded easily, and would have saved large numbers of lives and dollars for PEI. It would have put PEI on the map for being at the cutting edge of primary care, not just in Canada but in North America.
The effects of the loss of the Phoenix Medical Practice and it's successful model of care will continue to be felt in PEI for decades to come.
* "The Evolving Primary Care Physician", Susan Okie, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine, May 17, 2012, Vol 366, No 20
