May

The GPSC and SGP are pleased to continue to offer their billing webinars this spring for family doctors who are new-to-practice/new-to-BC. Led by physician educators, each webinar will be cumulative and content-specific:

• GPSC Billing Part 1: Tuesday, 7 May 2019, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• GPSC Billing Part 2: Tuesday, 11 June 2019, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Space is limited. For details about new-to-practice eligibility, each webinar’s content, and registration links visit www.gpscbc.ca.

The Victoria General Hospital Clinic is offering novel, ground-breaking collaborative innovations. After witnessing impressive neuro-orthopedic outcomes in Europe, physiatrist Dr Paul Winston (medical director of Rehabilitation for Island Health) accessed a team of experts to test, trial, and improve the latest standard of care.

Three primary-care networks (PCNs) and the new Burnaby Urgent and Primary Care Centre (UPCC) are coming to Burnaby in May 2019. The PCNs and UPCC will recruit approximately 68 new health care providers over the next 3 years, including 10 general practitioners, 10 nurse practitioners, 3 clinical pharmacists, and 45 nursing and allied health care professionals.

The three networks will be the Brentwood/Hastings PCN, Edmonds PCN, and Metrotown PCN. A fourth PCN located in the Lougheed region will be developed in the future.

I thank Dr Ocana for his insightful article, “Cannabis use by adolescents: Practical implications for clinicians” [BCMJ 2018;61:14-19]. I would, however, question his conclusion that “there are more accidental overdoses and deaths. . .” attributed to the legalization of cannabis. His reference for this statement[1] mentions a single death due to myocarditis in an 11-month-old who tested positive for THC.