Member, Connecting Patients with Community Doctors Improvement Project Committee

Who better than patients can describe the challenging factors involved in finding a family doctor? A group of physicians in Chilliwack is reviewing the current Patient Attachment Mechanism (PAM) program, with the hope of encouraging more physicians to participate. The project committee needs patient input to identify new areas for improvement in the physician-engagement process.

Open to: Patient partners from Chilliwack and surrounding communities

Lead Organization or Department

Chilliwack Division of Family Practice: Lead Physician, Dr. Ling Low

Aim

Ultimately, this project hopes to improve the way patients find and connect with family doctors. The committee is working towards this aim by combining family doctor and patient partner input into a project designed to address barriers. By sharing their lived experiences of accessing primary care, patients partners will help to identify and explain the existing challenges in the system, and also contribute to the development of new access strategies.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of collaborate on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will look to you for advice in developing, implementing and evaluating national, provincial and regional policy and/or research to ensure the health care system is responsive to the patients’ experience as much as possible.

Eligibility

• Volunteers from Chilliwack and surrounding communities. This engagement is ideal for patient partners who:
  • Have experience with the health care system, particularly in the area of trying to access a local doctor, and;
  • Bring an enthusiastic patient voice to the team and can critically assess ideas and opportunities.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 1-2
• Date/Time & Commitment: Mondays, 3:00pm – 4:00pm until June 2018
• Location: Chilliwack General Hospital

Reimbursement

Preapproved expenses related to travel to in person meetings will be reimbursed according to the Fraser Health Travel policy (including mileage, parking, tolls and/or public transit).

Background

Family Doctors know that patients moving into a new community or whose doctor has retired or relocated often have difficulty finding another primary care giver. During the GP for Me pilot in 2014, the Fraser South community set up PAM (patient attachment mechanism) to help match patients to available doctors. Currently there is a review of the program in Chilliwack to see if the process can be made smoother or easier for doctors so that more of them may participate in the on-going program. It is hoped that a patient perspective may help identify any new areas for improvement in the process. For more information on the GP for Me program please go to: http://www.gpscbc.ca/what-we-do/innovations/a-gp-for-me

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jami Brown
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Fraser Valley
604.510.0449
jbrown@bcpsqc.ca