Post by dereksimon on Nov 28, 2013 23:03:48 GMT -4
Primary Health Care Reform
Our Current Policy
Our party has outlined necessary improvements to our health care system in our 2010 election platform. They include better access to primary care, the benefits of a variety of professions working in a team to provide primary care, a need to address the poor health status of our population, the importance of better management of people with chronic illnesses and universal coverage for necessary prescription drugs.
Nothing that has come from the current government demonstrates that they have any real commitment to the changes that will be necessary to achieve significant improvements over the next decade. The most glaring deficiency is the limited concept that is being proposed related to collaborative primary care. We advocate transformation over a decade to a province-wide network of collaborative care community health centres to provide primary care to all New Brunswickers. We believe the evidence that a team of family doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, dietitians, psychologists, pharmacists and others working under the same roof is the only effective and efficient way to support families challenged by poor health or chronic illnesses and to give all more accessibility when they have an acute illness.
Solving the access to primary health care problem requires a new paradigm, collaborative care community health centres where family doctors work in teams with nurse practitoners and others in sufficient numbers to enable access at least twelve hours every day of the week. This is the only approach that will ensure continuity of care to everyone.
New Policy Measures for Discussion
1. If collaborative care teams are to really work together they need to be located together. This is not possible within the limited space of most suites where family doctors practice. A variety of solutions should be pursued including government funded renovations to professional arts buildings; government buyouts of doctor-owned buildings or leases; and government purpose-built community health centres.
2. Alternative payment plans that ensure physicians will not lose income by shifting into environments where they will share service provision with other professions. Such arrangements are in place in many provinces, so it wouldn’t be difficult to identify some starting points for negotiations.
3. Removal of government caps on medicare billing numbers in return for a requirement that all recruits commit to practice in collaborative care teams.
4. Compulsory introduction of electronic medical records at all practice sites with all costs covered by government.
Our Current Policy
Our party has outlined necessary improvements to our health care system in our 2010 election platform. They include better access to primary care, the benefits of a variety of professions working in a team to provide primary care, a need to address the poor health status of our population, the importance of better management of people with chronic illnesses and universal coverage for necessary prescription drugs.
Nothing that has come from the current government demonstrates that they have any real commitment to the changes that will be necessary to achieve significant improvements over the next decade. The most glaring deficiency is the limited concept that is being proposed related to collaborative primary care. We advocate transformation over a decade to a province-wide network of collaborative care community health centres to provide primary care to all New Brunswickers. We believe the evidence that a team of family doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, dietitians, psychologists, pharmacists and others working under the same roof is the only effective and efficient way to support families challenged by poor health or chronic illnesses and to give all more accessibility when they have an acute illness.
Solving the access to primary health care problem requires a new paradigm, collaborative care community health centres where family doctors work in teams with nurse practitoners and others in sufficient numbers to enable access at least twelve hours every day of the week. This is the only approach that will ensure continuity of care to everyone.
New Policy Measures for Discussion
1. If collaborative care teams are to really work together they need to be located together. This is not possible within the limited space of most suites where family doctors practice. A variety of solutions should be pursued including government funded renovations to professional arts buildings; government buyouts of doctor-owned buildings or leases; and government purpose-built community health centres.
2. Alternative payment plans that ensure physicians will not lose income by shifting into environments where they will share service provision with other professions. Such arrangements are in place in many provinces, so it wouldn’t be difficult to identify some starting points for negotiations.
3. Removal of government caps on medicare billing numbers in return for a requirement that all recruits commit to practice in collaborative care teams.
4. Compulsory introduction of electronic medical records at all practice sites with all costs covered by government.