On June 1, The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM)’s new set of collaborative care standards will take effect. We’re sharing a brief reminder about the CPSM changes to help you prepare, and inviting your continued feedback. 

What’s happening: Expectations around respectful closed-loop communication, coordination, and accountability are becoming more explicit, including for referrals: 

• Consultants should generally respond within 14 days of receiving a referral according to the new standards, a change from the current 30 days. 
• This means acknowledging and confirming the referral, even if you cannot provide all the required information just yet. 
• It does not mean an appointment needs to be booked within that window. 
• You are not directly responsible for delays in communication caused by institutional systems issues that are outside your control. 

The new standard reinforces that physicians should be guided by shared responsibility for the patient and be respectful of each other, including each other’s time. This means: 

• Emphasizing that requests should be clear, concise, and complete 
• Providing examples of unacceptable behaviour or responses. 

How to prepare: While CPSM will provide final documents and additional educational resources in the coming weeks, prior to June 1 you can review CPSM’s resources and contextual documents and read Doctors Manitoba’s analysis on what the changes mean for you. 

We are here for you! As the rollout begins, we invite you to share your feedback and questions with us by emailing practiceadvice@​doctorsmanitoba.​ca. Your input will help shape the supports and system changes needed to make this work, both from Doctors Manitoba and CPSM. 

❓Are you already living the 14-day rule as a consulting physician? We would love to hear from you, so we can learn more about how you manage referrals in your practice and strive for timely responses. We want to share tips like this with other members!