Below are highlights from summer 2017 meetings of AFHTO’s Executive Director Advisory Council (EDAC), Physician Leadership Council (PLC), and the NPLC Leadership Council.
Use the links below to navigate through the sections.
FHT-MOHLTC Contract Renewal
Consultations between the Ministry and OMA on proposed changes to the FHT contract took place over the summer (see May 19 email update for the clauses under consideration for change in the new FHT contract). Given our common membership of family physicians, AFHTO also had the opportunity to meet with the OMA to discuss and compare member input in relation to the proposed changes. Joint meetings will continue as we support our members in contract implementation.
We anticipate the Ministry will share the draft FHT contract with AFHTO over the coming weeks. A joint webinar will be held to review the changes and answer any questions you may have (most likely late Fall 2017).
Building Relationships with the LHINs
The Ministry has been making efforts to identify and address gaps in LHINs’ understanding of issues pertinent to interprofessional primary care, including an orientation to FHTs and NPLCs. As part of that effort, they are holding two “Primary Care 101” education sessions for LHIN CEOs this fall, and have shared teams’ AOPs with the LHINs.
Under the Patients First Act, Family Health Teams (FHTs) and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics (NPLCs) can become Health Services Providers (HSPs), enabling LHINs to fund them (core funding for the FHTs and NPLCs remains with the Ministry). AFHTO will be offering a joint webcast with the LHINs and Ministry to provide education about what it means to be an ‘HSP’, the process to receive LHIN funding for certain programs/projects/initiatives, Service Accountability Agreements between the LHIN and HSPs they fund, and an overview of the LHIN Authority Guideline documents (anticipating October 2017).
With Patients First implementation now underway, it’s important for primary care teams to build strong relationships with their LHINs and with their LHIN sub-region peers, to ensure our “place at the table” and to further our role as primary care leaders. We’re hearing that some LHINs have not been making room at the table for NPLCs, and we continue to advocate for them as part of our mandate.
Ministry of Labour (MOL) Safe at Work Ontario Initiative
Be prepared! The MOL has initiated their random site inspections of FHTs and CHCs to determine compliance with the OHSA and associated regulations. AFHTO has partnered with Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) to help our members get ready – our online Health & Safety Resources Webpage is now live! We have added sample policies and a Health and Safety Resource Manual, in addition to other resources…be sure to check it out!
Missed the August health & safety webinar? By popular demand, we’re offering a second session on October 4th from 1-2 pm. Register now. Password- AFHTO2
Regional training workshops are also available and are being planned in several LHIN regions. Ask your EDAC rep for more information.
AFHTO 2017 Conference – Improving Primary Care Together
REGISTER NOW! Early-bird registration closes October 2, 2017. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to meet and discuss topics relevant to your roles, teams and patients in sessions like:
The Way Forward: Care Coordination Led by Primary Care
This year’s focus for the Leadership Triad Session is on care coordination and building primary care as the foundation of the health care system, so more Ontarians can access comprehensive care, coordinated through primary care teams.
Be a part of the dialogue and provide meaningful guidance to the LHINs by helping them to develop a plan for transitioning care-coordination resources to primary care. The May 2017 Minister’s mandate letter asked LHINs “to develop and implement a plan […] that embeds care coordinators and system navigators in primary care to ensure smooth transitions of care,” so we know that care coordination is a relevant and timely topic for both LHIN and AFHTO leaders.
Note: This Leadership workshop is open only to board members, board chairs, EDs and Lead MDs or NPs of AFHTO member organizations and will include senior leadership members from the LHINs.
Other sessions for FHT and NPLC leaders at the AFHTO 2017 Conference
- Beyond Schedule A: Evidence-Based Program Planning for Community Needs. This workshop for EDs and others with an interest in program planning will explore the program-planning process from situational/needs assessment to determining your program elements.
- Demonstrating Resilience and Leadership Through Times of Change: Tools for Physician Leaders. This workshop for physicians in both formal and informal leadership roles will focus primarily on two related skill sets: coaching and leading teams.
- Dancing at my Daughter’s Wedding: Creating and tracking patient goals with a mobile app and portal | Information to Action Orientation. This year’s physician networking session has two components. First, you’ll learn about how to work with patients to create and monitor goals that matter to both you AND them. Later, you’ll be joined by EDs and other interested team members for an orientation to Information to Action, AFHTO’s new suite of improvement supports.
- Leadership and Decision-Making in Today’s Reality. This year’s ED networking session will provide EDs and Admin Leads with a brief, hands-on introduction to concrete tools for effective leadership in decision-making, communication, and use of mass data.
Governance & Leadership Program Updates
Want to know what AFHTOs Governance and Leadership program is up to? Read here. Highlights include:
- Online governance training, in partnership with OHA’s Governance Centre of Excellence – topics include board development, financial literacy, and risk management.
- New knowledge products: Case study on FHT-Physician teamwork, and a new Physician Orientation Toolkit
- Learning events on privacy and workplace safety
- A sneak peek at what’s ahead for Fall 2017!
QIDS Program Updates
Big news about support for opioid management. AFHTO has been named as co-lead for a recently funded CAMH project to support primary care providers in better management of pain, addiction, and opioid prescribing. Interested in learning more about how to treat opiod use disorder in a primary-care setting? Consider registering for the 2017 Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care Conference, November 24th in Toronto.
Registration is open for our fall learning event: Managing Medication as a Team. This full-day workshop is an in-depth look at common aspects of interprofessional medication management, so you can pick up ideas to use in your own setting.
Read here to find out what else AFHTO’s Quality Improvement & Decision Support program is doing. Highlights include:
- QI Enablers Study: Let’s work together to find out how teams get better at what they do.
- Patient Focus Groups: Finding out more about what matters to patients.
- Information to Action: Learn more about our new basket of tools and resources for quality improvement
- Optimum Project: Help for your older patients with treatment-resistant depression
…and don’t forget to check our bi-weekly D2D eBulletin for regular program updates!
NPs…This Focus Group is For YOU
The Exceptional Access Program at the MOHLTC is developing a new online service for prescribers which will allow them to research, create, and manage exceptional access program requests for their patients. The ministry has been reaching out to various prescriber groups and drug manufacturers to make them aware of this new online service (The Special Authorization Digital Information Exchange [SADIE]).
Provide your input and have a sneak peek into how SADIE will look and its functionality!
When: Friday, September 29th, 2017 from 1:00 to 2:30
ONLINE (with audio if your computer has mic/speakers) https://ali.health.gov.on.ca/AFHTO
DIAL-IN for AUDIO: 416-212-8012/1-866-633-0848 / Conf Id 5749341#
Please RSVP to Rob Oddi (rob.oddi@ontario.ca) if you can attend.
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