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In today’s message you will find:

New Plan for Cortext Replacement

This week, Digital Shared Services announced a new plan for the replacement of Cortext secure physician messaging. Cortext will be replaced, likely later in September, by a new secure messaging app called TigerConnect. Originally, Cortext was to be replaced by Microsoft Teams, but the plan has changed based on concerns raised by physicians and Doctors Manitoba. 

TigerConnect, which functions similarly to the existing Cortext tool, is a clinical collaboration tool that allows for seamless communication between health-care providers using video, voice and text, and allows users to manage notification settings for escalated and priority messaging. Using TigerConnect also allows for consideration of future integration with the Electronic Patient Record (EPR). Full details, including how to download and get set up with the new app, will follow shortly. You can view the full memo here.

How did we get here?

  • The vendor for Cortext decided to discontinue the app, leaving Digital Shared Services to find a replacement. This was announced in April.
  • Physicians were concerned about the proposed replacement, Microsoft Teams, not having the same functionality as Cortext, such as a directory of physicians, breakthrough messaging when a smartphone’s notifications are muted, and the ability to differentiate urgent clinical requests from other messages. Doctors Manitoba escalated these concerns, recommending any solution must be as good or better than Cortext.
  • Digital Shared Services has listened, and it appears TigerConnect offers similar functionality, with potential integration into electronic records. It also offers the ability to transition asynchronous text exchanges, which are not claimable, into voice or video calls, which are claimable as a collaborative communication tariff (see more here).

Extended Hours Primary Care Premiums Increasing

Starting this September, the extended hours premiums for evening/​weekend primary care will see a significant increase for Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening operations. 

Right now, qualifying weeknight and weekend primary care services receive a 20% premium. Effective September 1st, the premium for qualifying visits offered on Friday, Saturday or Sunday evenings will increase to 30%. A new tariff has been introduced to support the new 30% weekend evening premium. 

Learn more about Extended Hours Primary Care Premiums here.

Extended Hours Clinic Recruitment Underway

WRHA is opening new Extended Hours Clinics this fall and winter to offer episodic primary care evenings and weekends. Recruitment is underway for both medical directors and physicians interested in adding a few shifts to their existing practice in a new, unique environment.

What are these clinics?

  • The clinics will be located at Grace, Concordia, Seven Oaks, St. Boniface, and Victoria Hospitals, open 4pm to midnight on weekdays, and 12pm to midnight on weekends.
  • Clinics will include nursing and primary care assistant coverage as well as centralized support for billing and medical leadership. 
  • Patients will be able to book same-day or walk-in appointments. 
  • See this overview of the clinic model and the opportunity for physicians.

Clinics will be opened on a staggered basis, with the first clinic slated to open by Grace Hospital this September.

​“Extended-hours primary clinics are increasing access to same-day primary care evenings and weekends, especially for people who currently do not have a family doctor or primary care provider,” explained Dr. Amanda Condon, Department Head for Family Medicine. ​“These clinics will provide care for patients and aim to connect them with ongoing or needed follow-up care as much as possible. These clinics are a collaborative, community effort between family doctors and doctor’s offices across Winnipeg along with the WRHA, working together to do what they can to increase access for patients, given the current shortage in access to ongoing primary care for many people living in Winnipeg.”

Remuneration

Doctors Manitoba and Manitoba Health have negotiated a flexible remuneration framework to support the operation of these unique clinics. Physicians will have the option of choosing a blended fee-for-service model that includes two hours of administrative time, or a straight hourly option paid at standard independent contractor rates. Extended hour premiums of 20% to 30% apply to all remuneration, and a 12.5% overhead is deducted. Physicians connected to a Home Clinic will see their overhead deductions sent to their Home Clinic.

Read this page for more information about remuneration.

Learn more

If you would like to learn more, you can:

Cell Phone Ban Exemptions?

Are you getting requests from parents for a medical exemption note from the new ban on cell phones in schools? CPSM has issued new guidance on this matter to support physicians. 

However, it’s important to note that in most cases a medical exemption note (and the associated appointment!) are likely not required. Our understanding is that the new provincial guidelines for schools already allow schools and teachers to use their discretion to allow for exceptions for medical reasons, such as monitoring glucose levels. It’s important to remember this new policy is informed by evidence that shows learning and development are negatively impacted by cell phones in the classroom. Therefore, exemptions should only be granted when there is a true medical reason and the school is not willing or able to make an exception themselves. 

Let us know if this is becoming a burden for your practice by emailing us at adminburden@​doctorsmanitoba.​ca

Respiratory Illness Season Update

Earlier this week, we hosted a webinar with Manitoba Public Health about the upcoming respiratory season. Below you will find a summary, with key links, as well as a way to watch the webinar on-demand.

Here are some key highlights:

  • Dr. Natalie Casaclang, a Medical Officer of Health, provided an outlook for the 2024/25 respiratory illness season. Based on the experience in the Southern Hemisphere, the outlook looks like an average level of respiratory virus activity, with some variations compared to the previous year. 
  • An analysis of last year’s ICU admissions found most admissions with respiratory issues had not received the current season’s COVID or flu vaccines, and most had co-morbidities putting them further at risk. Most also had many encounters with health care providers in the weeks and months before their ICU admission. 
  • Dr. Brent Roussin strongly encouraged physicians to proactively offer both influenza and COVID seasonal vaccines to patients this fall as patients are in for visits, and pneumococcal vaccine for those age 65+. This includes not only family physicians and pediatricians, but also other specialty clinics as well.
  • Registration is now open for clinics interested in offering seasonal vaccines. Please register now through Manitoba Health. Registration is required for all clinics, even those who were registered last year. Vaccine will be delivered bi-weekly at the start of the program. Clinics should request 4 weeks of supply on their first order, though it may be shipped out in smaller batches over the first month. The first orders should ship in early October, dependent on when vaccines arrive in Manitoba.
  • Inventory reporting is no longer required. The Vaccine Clinic Locator Map will not include inventory info, instead advising the public to contact a location to confirm availability.
  • Billing tariffs are in place for COVID, flu and pneumococcal vaccines for this season. Physicians are reminded that now, these tariffs can be claimed even when the immunization is fully delegated to competent clinic staff. Visits can also be billed by the physician when there’s additional assessment, advice or monitoring required.

Product availability this year:

  • Influenza:
    o For those age 6+ months and under 65 (Tariff 8791): Flulaval Tetra Quadrivalent (MDV) or Fluzone Quadrivalent (MDV & PFS)
    o For those age 65+ (Tariff 8775): High Dose Fluzone HD Quadrivalent (PFS)
  • COVID-19: Only mRNA vaccines that contain the KP.2 strain will be available this season:
    o Moderna for ages 6 months and older (Tariff 8161)
    o Pfizer for ages 12 years and older (Tariff 8160)
    o Note: both products now have extended refrigerator storage time of 50 – 70 days depending on the product.
  • Pneumococcal
    o Conjugate-15-Valent (Tariff 8222)
    o Conjugate-20-Valent (Tariff 8223)

Take Action!

Early Career Webinars

Our Early Career Webinars on September 24 and 25 are for physicians in their first five years of practice, residents approaching the end of residency and physicians who have recently relocated their practice to Manitoba.

This webinar will cover:

  • What Doctors Manitoba offers you
  • Benefits, rebates and insurance options for physicians
  • Billing tips and common questions
  • Physician health and wellness supports
  • Introduction to our brand new New to Practice program for early career physicians
  • Q&A

Two sessions are planned:

  • September 24 at 6:00 PM — Family Practice Focus — Register here.
  • September 25 at 6:00 PM — Specialist Practice Focus — Register here.

You can submit questions while registering, or live during the webinars.

Virtual Blanket Exercise with Brave the Healing

Doctors Manitoba is honoured to present the virtual Blanket Exercise, a participatory experience and educational tool, to physicians, residents, and medical learners (and an invited guest) across the province. This event, facilitated by Braving the Healing, revisits the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Canada and is an opportunity to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, together. Register now.

Healthcare For Real Launch

Healthcare For Real is an initiative of the Canadian Medical Association to demystify health care to make it better. This summer, Doctors Manitoba hosted a member of the Healthcare For Real team — keep an eye out for the debut of your physician colleagues in upcoming content! You can see the latest videos and articles on the Healthcare For Real website and give @healthcareforreal a follow on Instagram

Phenomenal Physicians

Dr. Jim Ross of Portage Clinic will receive two awards at the upcoming Canadian Association of General Surgeons conference. He will be receiving an honourary Membership with the CAGS, as well as the G. William Fitzgerald Award for Excellence in Rural Surgery. Congratulations, Dr. Ross!

Health System Updates

The Access Improvement Model (AIM) program is a dynamic initiative designed to empower primary care clinics with the tools and knowledge necessary to drive meaningful change. Through AIM, clinical teams gain expertise in quality improvement, change management, and team-building, equipping them to address key operational challenges such as patient access. By learning how to identify and overcome barriers, implement best practices, and foster a culture of continuous improvement, clinics will not only be able to implement change but also to sustain the change over the long term, ultimately leading to enhanced patient care and operational efficiency.

Sustaining change within a clinical setting requires more than just initial implementation and can be accomplished in various ways. By deliberately focusing on standardization, clinics can embed a new process into daily operations to ensure that improvements are not only maintained but also refined over time. Regularly auditing performance can help clinics monitor progress, address issues early, and adapt to changing needs. A third way to sustain a change is to have all staff working to their full scope of practice to maximize the use of each team member’s capabilities, leading to a more resilient and effective clinical practice.

With limited spots available for Fall 2024, now is the perfect time for primary care clinics to sign-up for AIM. Participating clinics gain access not only to comprehensive course content but also to individualized facilitation and coaching, helping them embark on a path to continuous quality improvement. Don’t miss this opportunity to make lasting change; sign-up for AIM today and secure your clinic’s place in this transformative journey! 

If you would like to explore AIM in greater detail, please visit the AIM website and be sure to reach out to us at aim@​sharedhealthmb.​ca.

SHAPE Survey Participation Requested

The Sexual Health and Genito-Pelvic Pain Knowledge Empowerment Hub (SHAPE) at the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is conducting a national survey that aims to identify the barriers healthcare providers face in diagnosing and managing female sexual dysfunction and genito-pelvic pain.

Your insights will help us:

  • Identify barriers to effective care
  • Develop targeted resources and training programs
  • Create online tools to support both patients and providers

Survey Details:

  • Time commitment: 10 – 15 minutes
  • All responses are strictly confidential
  • All participants will be entered into a draw to win CAD $500

Link to survey

ICYMI

Here’s the latest and most popular stories, in case you missed them:

Upcoming Events

You can always review upcoming events on our events calendar page.

MAiD assessment education

Attention to MDs who want to learn more about the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Service in Manitoba.

There will be a free CPD accredited virtual education session called ​“How to do a MAiD assessment” available to all interested Manitoba physicians October 19, 2024. This session will be led by Dr. Kim Wiebe (MAiD Medical Director) and Dr. Maegan Springman (MAiD Assessor/​Provider) who have both been certified by the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers (CAMAP) to teach this session. The session will cover what is involved in a MAiD assessment, the difference between the two MAiD tracks (those who have a reasonably foreseeable death and those who do not) and provide tools for self-care.

Note: this is not a session intended to recruit MAiD providers. The session is intended to provide more information about the Manitoba MAiD program so that you can help your patients through the process, answer their basic questions and know when to refer your patients.

Click here for more information and to sign up for the session.

Canadian Surgery Forum 

For the first time ever, the largest surgical meeting in Canada will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba from September 25 – 28. To help celebrate, the Canadian Surgery Forum will do a draw of all Manitoba surgeons who register and attend to receive a refund of their conference registration post event.*

Held at the RBC Convention Center at 375 York Ave., the Canadian Surgery Forum includes scientific and educational sessions offered through interactive symposia, panel discussions, postgraduate courses, debates, plenary sessions, video sessions, and ​‘Meet the Fellowship Director.’

The theme of CSF 2024 is ​“Surgery Through Inclusive Innovation.” Delegates can expect over 50 accredited sessions across all participating sub-specialties, with full and half-day post graduate courses, content geared towards community and rural surgeons, and free child care!

Visit cana​di​ansurgery​fo​rum​.com for speaker bios, the conference program, travel and accommodation information, and to register!

Members of CAGS and CSF partner sub-specialty societies qualify for special discounted member rates!For all conference information, including registration information and pricing, and the scientific program, please visit the CSF 2024 website.

*Draw excludes the cost of post-graduate courses.

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