July

The Vancouver Division of Family Practice has developed a 52-page booklet providing guidance for doctors at any stage of retirement planning. How to Retire Guide covers everything from starting a plan, to finding a replacement doctor, to closing a practice.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC has adopted a new professional standard, Safe Prescribing of Drugs with Potential for Misuse/Diversion, to assist physicians with prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, and other medications. Many of the principles contained in the new standard reflect the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain – United States 2016, which the Board of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC endorsed in April 2016.

Doctors can now access simple and useful Practice Support Program (PSP) screening and diagnostic tools in their EMRs. PSP has partnered with EMR vendors to provide clinical, patient, and community resources. These specialized tools help identify patients with often-underdiagnosed conditions such as chronic pain, adult mental health, child and youth mental health, heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. The free EMR tools make ongoing patient care easier by linking to patient registries, which simplifies the scheduling of recall appointments and periodic testing.

I am frequently asked by physicians, “What could get me audited?” There is no simple answer.

In any system that pays for services, there is an audit process. Approximately 103 million claims are processed each year by Health Insurance BC. The system allows physicians to submit billings in most cases without pre-approval. The system is built on trust and is designed to pay. As a result, physicians may continue to bill incorrectly for many years, and it is not until they are audited that they become aware of a problem.

The College Library provides 24/7 access to electronic books (e-books) that can be read either on your computer or on most mobile devices. Library users have access to e-book versions of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, Ferri’s Clinical Advisor 2016, the DSM-5, and hundreds of other current clinical titles across multiple disciplines.