Family Doctor Day: Recognizing commitment to patient care

May 18, 2018

Family Doctor Day is an opportunity to reflect on the commitment of doctors to their patients. This work goes beyond what doctors do to support patients in their practices—physicians are also working to improve care at the provincial level, helping find creative solutions that will impact how care is provided in the future.

At a recent event, we asked doctors what brought them into the medical profession in the first place, and what they love about their work. Their responses were meaningful and heartfelt, and a great reminder of why family doctors in BC are so passionate about what they do. A few of the doctors’ responses are featured below.

 
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Supporting family doctors in BC

Since 2002, family doctors in BC have been working with the provincial government to connect patients with the care they need, and improve working conditions for family doctors in order to ensure new doctors want to practise family medicine. This collaboration between doctors and the government happens through the General Practice Services Committee (GPSC), which funds Divisions of Family Practice—35 non-profit organizations of doctors around the province who develop and implement grassroots health care solutions. 

These solutions are important. Doctors are under significant stress, and the threat of burnout is real. GPs need support with administrative work, caring for complex patients, and bringing teams of allied health providers (like nurses, dieticians, and physiotherapists) into their practices to help them provide patients with a full range of care. As well, the health care system is under strain and can be difficult to navigate—for patients and doctors alike. This is why doctors, through Divisions of Family Practice, are working with health authorities and provincial partners to create an integrated system of primary and community care across BC. 

As a foundation for this new system of care, the GPSC is supporting doctors to move toward the patient medical home model. This involves family practices operating at their full potential, and includes team-based care such as doctors, nurses, and allied care providers working together. Patient medical homes then link to primary care networks, which connect patients with specialist care and community services.

The ultimate goal of this work is to ensure that patients get the care they need, when they need it. But the health care changes that are underway have significant value to doctors too—namely, to free them up for what brought them into the medical profession, and to do the work they love to do. 

For more information on patient medical home and primary care networks, click here.