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In today’s message you will find:

President Dr. Guzman Inspires

This week’s Filipino Journal includes coverage of the Doctors Manitoba Awards Gala and our new President Dr. Guzman. You can see the full issue here, one that also includes a gala cover story and a ​“Getting to Know Dr. Randy Guzman” feature on page 11 of the publication.

June is PRIDE month!

Walk with us next weekend at Pride

Be a part of the action with Doctors Manitoba at the Winnipeg Pride Parade and Rally on Sunday, June 2. 

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. and the route will go down Portage Avenue, and end at The Forks. We invite you, your friends and family to walk the parade route to celebrate and support the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Sign up here! 

What to expect at Pride?

We are participating in the Pride Parade, however there are many other activities that are part of the Pride Festival, including a vigil and rally. 

Pride parades started as protests decades ago to advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ rights and equality. Today, the parades often have a more celebratory tone, though advocacy and allyship continues to be a foundational reason for the event. You can learn more about the roots and history at a series of lunch and learns through Rainbow Resource Centre. It is common at Pride events to have adjacent protests and rallies about intersecting or unrelated issues. For those who may not have attended Pride, in past years here and across North American this has included rallies or protests about international conflicts, Black Lives Matters, and protesting gender identity ideology. The Winnipeg parade is often not directly impacted by these adjacent or counter protests, but it is important to know what to expect.

Pride Lunch & Learn Events

The Rainbow Resource Centre is offering Lunch & Learn virtual events throughout June. Subjects include Allyship 101, Queer History in Manitoba, The Stonewall Uprising & Modern-Day Pride Movements, and Dispelling & Challenging Anti-2SLGBTQ+ Stereotypes. Learn more here. 

Pride Winnipegosis

Winnipegosis has several opportunities to participate, including:

  • Friday, June 7: Educational session and public forum at the WDRS

    Day Program Building beginning at 7 p.m. titled An Introduction to Sexuality and Gender: Exploring Hormones and Puberty Blockers.

  • Saturday, June 8: Winnipegosis Boulevard 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. drag storytimes and performances, food, games, vendors and speakers.

  • Saturday, June 8: Pride Parade, line up at 3:30 p.m.at the old bus garage.

  • View the event poster.

More Support for the Business Side of Medicine?

We’re working on expanding our resources to support physicians with the​“business of medicine,” so you can focus more of your time on your patients. This could involve everything from the extra work that comes with an incorporated practice to billing advice and optimization, from establishing and maintaining a clinic to improving patient convenience, and from navigating regulatory requirements to help with payroll, HR, and getting better pricing on supplies. 

With this purpose in mind, Doctors Manitoba has hired consulting firm MNP LLP to complete a needs assessment to help us design new resources and services to support you better. 

MNP will conduct up to 40 interviews with specialists and family physicians from across Manitoba. If you are interested in being interviewed to help us understand the need for new services, click this link to sign up. Our consultants will select a cross-section of members to ensure a representative mix of practice types and locations. Physicians selected to participate will receive an honorarium of $165/​hour.

→ Click here to share your views in an interview 

Additionally, MNP will assess how other organizations meet physician needs, to help ensure new resources and supports from Doctors Manitoba are well aligned with and complement what is already available. 

Our hope is additional services will make it a little bit easier for physicians to focus on their clinical practice, reducing administrative and other burdens with better support and resources. This is one part of improving physician retention, and this project is supported by funding we 

Highlight on Communities of Practice — Rounds feature

Our magazine for members recently featured a story about the Physician Health and Wellness Communities of Practice Program. 

The project took the time to understand the day-to-day challenges physicians and communities face in delivering high-quality health care, and provided a forum for people to work together to figure out how changes can be made to create a more positive and satisfying work environment for doctors. You can read about it and the regions who participated in the story here: Doctors Manitoba | A Plan for System Change.

A digital version of the May issue of Rounds is also available now.

Navigating Incorporation for Canadian Physicians

Wednesday, June 12th at 6:00 p.m CDT

Join MD Financial Management and MNP for a live educational webinar titled Navigating Incorporation for Canadian Physicians. This webinar is ideal for residents approaching their transition to practice or new in practice physicians who want to understand the benefits and challenges of incorporation, learning how to incorporate your medical practice, exploring accounting implications, and finding out how to leverage your medical corporation for financial planning. Register here.

Golf with Doctors Manitoba

Register today for the 2nd Annual Doctors Manitoba Getting Healthy Golf Tournament planned for Tuesday, September 3 at Southwood Golf & Country Club. The format is friendly for less-experienced golfers, with a shotgun start and best-ball scramble, while more experienced golfers will enjoy the challenge of a premier championship course. Presented by MD Financial and Scotiabank with support from Bokhaut CPA.

Find out more and register at doc​tors​man​i​to​ba​.ca/​g​olf24

Canadians concerned tax changes will impact access to physicians

Doctors Manitoba continues to work with the Canadian Medical Association to raise concerns about how the proposed increase on capital gains taxes will impact physicians. We joined medical associations from across Canada this week in writing to the federal government to document these concerns and request for an exemption for physicians, given their unique professional situation and how the change impacts retirement savings. 

Canadians are also concerned about the impacts of tax change on access to healthcare.

A recent survey commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association to assess public reaction to the federal budget, 76% of Canadians with an opinion about the policy proposal said they would like to see the government reverse the proposed tax change in some form, including exempt healthcare providers who run community-based clinics. 

The survey found that 54% to 64% of Canadians believe outcomes like longer wait lists for family physicians, fewer physicians becoming family physicians, or family physicians stepping away from their practice would definitely or probably happen.

Canadians are most concerned about the impacts on wait times, which are already a top issue. Twenty-nine percent say these changes will definitely result in longer wait lists for family physicians.

In a news release, CMA reports remaining extremely concerned about the impact of the capital gains tax proposal on access to care, at a time when access to community-based care remains a top concern for Canadians.

“The reality is that the federal government is putting at risk its own health care agenda, which is contingent on broadening access to family medicine, the foundation of our health care system,” says Dr. Kathleen Ross, CMA president. ​“We’re hearing from physicians who feel betrayed, discouraged and deflated by this latest development. We must not create more roadblocks that will add further stress to the health workforce or prevent prospective physicians from choosing to practise in Canada.” 

You can read the full release from CMA here, as well as the Abacus Data survey results here.

In case you missed it, see our analysis of the capital gains tax changes here. Last week, we shared advice from MD Financial about whether or not to ​“crystallize” capital gains. See that here.

As always, we invite you to share your views on how this proposed tax change will impact you by emailing us at practiceadvice@​doctorsmanitoba.​ca.

Health System Updates

Effective May 23, 2024, FIT results available in eChart

As of May 23 2024, ColonCheck, CancerCare Manitoba Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) results performed by Cadham Provincial Laboratory will be available in eChart Manitoba. These results will display in the labs, biochemistry list pane.

Note: ColonCheck, CancerCare Manitoba will remain responsible for communicating FIT results to patients and making colonoscopy referrals for patients with abnormal test results. The appropriate provider(s) will be copied on all reports.

To read the eChart Manitoba memo click here.

Personal health information breached

Several hundred Manitobans have been notified of a breach of their personal health information, with approximately 360 patients confirmed to have had their patient records inappropriately accessed between August 2023 and March 2024.

The notification letters, sent by Shared Health’s privacy officer earlier this week, follow an internal investigation into incidents of unauthorized access to personal health information involving a clinical staff member at HSC. That individual is no longer employed by Shared Health.

Manitoba’s ombudsman has been made aware of the breach.

Read the full release from Shared Health.


Are you a physician or a nurse in Canada who sees families with children less than three years old in your practice? Please take the five-minute, anonymous, bilingual survey here. Developed by the Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), it will inform the development of infant and early mental health resources for you and your colleagues.

Shared Health nurses refuse to ratify 

Last Friday, the Manitoba Nurses Union announced members in five out of six health regions voted in favour of the tentative agreement. Fifty-seven percent Shared Health voted to reject the offer. We will continue to watch for updates. A story from CTV News included the vote breakdown by health authority. According to Shared Health, it employs about 4,100 nurses at Health Sciences Centre, Selkirk Mental Health Centre, and other provincial facilities and services.

The Power Over Pain Portal

With one in five Canadians living with chronic pain, access to chronic pain care continues to be a challenge in Canada. Long wait times for chronic pain care impacts all aspects of our lives. Thus, improving access to chronic pain care is one of the top priorities identified by people living with pain. As a result, researchers and clinicians, people living with pain, and community organizations from all across Canada came together to create a FREE online platform offering immediate access to resources to help manage pain. This was entitled the Power Over Pain portal and is a direct response to Health Canada’s Action Plan for Pain in Canada. The goal of the platform is to provide access to free resources in a one-stop shop. Resources include articles, videos, podcasts, courses, workshops, and peer support. The portal is specifically designed for people who live with pain, and associated mental health and substance use. The portal may also be useful for family members interested in learning more about pain. Accessing the portal is straightforward – you simply create an account and then you can access self-directed courses, complete self-assessments, receive a summary of results, and even obtain resource suggestions. The portal even has monthly live seminars taught by leading chronic pain researchers and clinicians. Additionally, there are a number of archived workshops and resources that can be accessed at any time, one of which was created right here in Manitoba (the IMPACT program). For more information you can find the Power over Pain portal here. You can also find the orientation video here and download a poster here.

ICYMI

Upcoming Events

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

Doctors Manitoba Book Club

Join us for our Doctors Manitoba Book Club on June 4 at 7 p.m. We’re reading Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein, winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Register Here.

CANPAD CME Conference and Family Event
The annual CANPAD Annual Continuing Medical Education Conference and Family event August 1 – 5 at the Fort Garry Hotel goes beyond the education sessions, including activities and programs tailored to all ages. Youth activities include movie nights, speakers, and volunteer opportunities. Events also include a ladies night, financial talks, family day at the zoo, picnic and gala night. Established in 2001, CANPAD has been at the forefront of advocating for interests of Nigerian physicians and dentists across Canada. Register now.

CMA AGM May 29

This year’s Annual General Meeting for the CMA is special for Manitobans, as CMA President-Elect Dr. Joss Reimer will officially become president. Register to hear from her and other CMA leaders. The CMA AGM will be held virtually on Wednesday, May 29, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Meeting information, including the agenda, is available at cma​.ca/​a​g​m2024.

Cancer Day for Primary Care

The 16th biennial Cancer Day for Primary Care, a collaboration between the Community Oncology Program at CancerCare Manitoba and the University of Manitoba, is back May 31 as a hybrid event, offering both virtual and in-person attendance options at Theater B, 727 McDermot Ave, University of Manitoba. What sets this event apart is the opportunity for attendees to submit their own cases for discussion by our expert panel. Join us for a dynamic and informative program. Learn more and register.

HPV and Cancer — Interdisciplinary Rounds 

Speakers for the June 5 event focused on prevention, treatment and future direction include Dr. Vanessa Poliquin, Dr. Ciaran Lane and Dr. Sarah Kean. Register now.

IPAC Mentorship Gathering 

Registration is open for the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada’s Annual Mentorship Gathering and AGM July 12 – 14 in Halifax. The gathering is an opportunity for Indigenous medical students, residents, and physicians, both members and potential members, to come together to share stories of their academic journeys, grow their networks, and enjoy cultural activities.

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