Re: Building the business case for allied health care pros

As the professional organization that represents more than half of all physicians in BC, the British Columbia College of Family Physicians (BCCFP) is pleased to support the article authored by Dr Cathy Clelland published in the January/February issue of the journal [Building the business case for allied health care professionals in family physician practices in British Columbia] (BCMJ 2015;57:15-17).

The article highlights the importance of the patient’s medical home—a model of family practice promoted by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. The system, encompassed by 10 pillars (guiding principles), focuses on the needs of the patient and delivery of comprehensive care in an interprofessional collaborative setting. There is a significant body of research backing the efficacy of the patient’s medical home, with benefits including improved patient and provider satisfaction, superior health outcomes, and reduced system costs through decreased reliance on emergency departments.

The BCCFP strongly advocates for interprofessional collaboration where providers work within their scope of expertise. Through the use of effective communication practices and electronic medical records, the information exchange between health professionals can be quick and efficient, resulting in seamless experiences for the patient. As the article points out, when compared to Canadian averages, BC family physicians are more likely to be paid primarily through fee-for-service methods. Innovative payment arrangements, often blended with the traditional fee-for-service model, have been shown to incentivize continuity of care for patients with chronic diseases and multiple comorbidities—emerging priorities for any primary care system.

The BCCFP encourages additional study of the impact of alternative methods of remuneration as well as interprofessional collaboration in the provision of primary care in the context of BC. Experiences in other provinces using care models that align with the patient’s medical home have been positive—investigating and implementing innovative solutions in BC should be a priority in our health care system. The A GP for Me initiative is but one innovative approach to advance collaborative practice and access to family physicians for all—similar efforts in backing other patient’s medical home practice models will yield the best results for the health of all British Columbians.

The BCCFP will be hosting a symposium on the patient’s medical home on 29 April 2015 with an aim to open up discussion about potential opportunities for collaboration and to identify directions and actions to further its implementation in the province.
—Denise McLeod, MD 
—Louise Nasmith, MD
—Christie Newton, MD
—Amy Weber, MD
—Toby Kirshin
BCCFP Patient’s Medical Home Committee Members

Denise McLeod, MD,, Louise Nasmith, MD,, Christie Newton, MD,, Amy Weber, MD,, Toby Kirshin,. Re: Building the business case for allied health care pros. BCMJ, Vol. 57, No. 3, April, 2015, Page(s) 99-100 - Letters.



Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
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For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

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