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Colleagues,
We’ve had a lot of bad news this week. Ongoing COVID-19 issues, the dispute with the government over health care stabilization funding, ongoing issues with PPEs, and so on. Well enough of that. I’m going to do an update with ONLY good news stories. To be clear, this does not mean we are going to stop advocating for you over the Advanced Payment issue. But for one day only we deserve an update with only good news.
OMA to Reduce Dues by 10 Per Cent
Many of you may not realize that our CEO Mr. O’Dette, has built on the work done by previous executives, and moved the OMA into a strong financial situation. The organization is leaner than most realize and has effectively invested its reserves. In light of that, and the fact that many members are experiencing cash-flow issues due to COVID-19, I am pleased to announce that the Board has voted to reduce dues for this year by 10 per cent. If you have already paid your dues, a refund will be coming (it should take less than a month to do the paperwork). If you are paying in instalments, a pro-rated reduction in your payments will occur.
OMA Asks Other Organizations to Reduce Dues/Fees
The OMA has asked several other organizations to follow our lead and reduce their dues and fees, including the CPSO, the CMPA, the CCFP and the Royal College. Obviously, we can’t control what they do, but we hope by showing leadership in this area, we can encourage them to do the same.
We have been advocating with the government to look at legislation to ease the criteria for legal action during the pandemic. We are also advocating with the CPSO to consider the needs of immediate decision-making during a pandemic situation, when investigating complaints. We believe that consideration of both of these will reduce the financial and emotional burden on physicians.
It is the right thing to do for physicians.
OMA Announces Partnership with Sunnybrook and MyChart
Continuing with the theme of good news, I want to let you all know that the OMA is announcing a partnership with Sunnybrook to enhance MyChart, the largest personal online health portal in Canada. The news release is here and talks about the benefits for patients.
But I want to talk about how it will benefit you, the physician.
We all know the health IT infrastructure is a challenge. Umpteen EMRs, at least three hospital IT systems, separate home care systems and according to one report, something like 70 patient portals. For almost two decades, the government has simply been unable to unify IT systems.
So, we’re going to do it. For our members. For our patients. For the future of health care.
MyChart is the largest patient portal in the country (by far) and has been around since 2006. Its road map includes the addition of video visits, and it already integrates with CHRIS – the home care software. It will also allow direct messaging from various levels of health care providers to each other. This means that we can finally look forward to a time where a home care nurse, for example, secure messages you for advice on a patient, or you can securely message a nursing home with orders. The fax needs to be axed and this is a potential step in that direction.
The architecture in MyChart allows for various providers to have different levels of access to information (so a Red Cross driver would not see the same data as a home care nurse). I believe this feature will be critical to the success of the Ontario Health Teams (when they ramp up) and is an essential step towards integrating care.
“But I don’t want to open another window!”
I hear you. While the plan is to slowly integrate with EMRs as the government rolls out its digital health strategy, you will need a second window. BUT – in order to compensate you for it, we have built secure third-party billing software into the system, with the help of our other partner PatientServ.
Suppose a patient messages you for an uninsured service from the portal (e.g., prescription refills). Now, the patient will automatically be informed of whatever fee you charge. Or, if applicable, they will be offered the opportunity to join a block billing program. (If registered for block billing, they will not get that prompt). The patient pays automatically via credit or debit. Funds are collected and an itemized receipt is automatically deposited to your account monthly. PatientServ will also provide administrative support and take phone calls from your patients to off-load work from your staff, further reducing your administrative burden.
When can you sign up? Well, we are a couple of months away from a rollout. But we’ve noticed that many members are getting requests from other companies to sign up for their portals/messaging systems/video call apps, and so on. Frankly, many of these companies are small operations that will not be able to keep their promises. MyChart, on the other hand, isn’t going anywhere. We therefore felt it was important to let you know that we have partnered with them, so that you know a trusted solution is coming. A solution that not only helps you provide better health care, but also helps the business of your practice.
This being said, our partnership with MyChart is non-exclusive. The OMA looks forward to continuing to work with other platforms and sector stakeholders to promote better communication tools with patients and necessary standards for critical integration.
If you are interested in signing up to have MyChart in your practice – please click here. WARNING, you will not hear for a couple of months until the testing is complete. However, it would be nice to know how many doctors are interested in this software.
Reminder – Teletown Hall is Tonight
A reminder that tonight there will be a Teletown Hall where we discuss some of the federal business grants for members. This is your chance to ask experts at MNP detailed questions about the various COVID19 relief programs and how they may benefit you. I encourage you all to log in to participate here.
Reminder #2 – Vote for the Next President
If you haven’t already, vote for the next President-Elect. The poll is non-binding, but it is an important piece of information that Council Delegates will use when they cast the ballots for your new President. To see the candidate statements and pick who you think will best represent you, click here.
That’s it for now. I will continue to keep members updated as events unfold. And I hope to be able to deliver more good news only updates in the future.
Ontario’s Doctors Rock!
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