LOG IN to the provincial Divisions of Family Practice website for access to UpToDate, which is provided free-of-charge as a member benefit to Richmond Division members. The provincial website is different from the Richmond Division of Family Practice website.
CAN’T ACCESS UpToDate? To maintain UpToDate access, members will be prompted to log in again to the provincial Divisions of Family Practice website after a 180-day period of inactivity.
RESET YOUR PASSWORD If you need to reset your password for the provincial Divisions of Family Practice website to access your UpToDate account, enter your email address here. Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email inbox.
LOG IN to the provincial Divisions of Family Practice website for access to UpToDate, which is provided free-of-charge as a member benefit to Richmond Division members
The Richmond Division of Family Practice’s MOA Network surpassed 170 members in 2023, solidifying its role to elevate the profession for local Medical Office Assistants.
Program Coordinator Ailin Chen, pivotal to Network strategy, event organization, and clinic outreach, has witnessed the growth first-hand. She and her colleagues have hosted 19 events for MOAs since the Network’s inception in 2020, and membership now includes 171 MOAs in 60 Richmond clinics.
“We recognized that a professional association for local MOAs was a critical missing piece,” says Chen. “It’s wonderful to see how the community has embraced the Network, and that it is providing so much value.”
The MOA Network is critical to enhancing the patient experience by boosting MOA skills, optimizing practices, and enabling quality improvement. These strategies, in turn, increase family physician capacity, which allows them to focus on patient care.
Key strategies include fostering camaraderie, professional development, skill building, idea exchange, and community partnership. The Network addresses common challenges that MOAs face, provides a platform for support, and connects MOAs to resources through Doctors of BC, Vancouver Coastal Health, Richmond Public Health, the Family Practice Services Committee Practice Support Program, Pathways BC, and local services.
Richmond’s MOA Network team collaborates with other Divisions of Family Practice throughout the province to address industry issues, and updates members via the twice-monthly Richmond MOA Minute newsletter.
“I’m proud of the Richmond MOA Network,” says Executive Director Jennifer West. “This group is rapidly gaining a reputation in the province as a model for other communities.”
Events and collaborations with health care organizations such as LifeLabs, Brooke Radiology, and ImmunizeBC highlight the Network’s commitment to connect MOAs with essential services. Chen says the Network will continue to focus on skill building, partnerships, and raising awareness about the value of MOAs.
“We are developing strategies to have a broader impact on the community and to strengthen the industry’s reputation overall,” she says.
Coppersmith Medical Clinic Manager Jessy Flores appreciates how the MOA Network provides opportunities to engage with fellow MOAs, health care professionals, and support groups.
“These connections have exposed me to diverse perspectives and innovative ideas about issues that are prevalent in our field,” says Flores. She adds that the Network facilitates the group to identify solutions for common challenges in Richmond clinics.
Part of the Network’s success is because Chen and her colleagues try to make participation fun.
“There have been so many wonderful moments since I became part of the MOA Network, but the recent Holiday Social stands out as the most memorable,” says Flores. “This event offered an enjoyable atmosphere for MOAs and the RDFP team. We got to engage in social interaction through games and activities, delicious food, and a warm cup of hot chocolate.”
With new Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners ready to accept patients, the Province has expanded the Health Connect Registry to all communities throughout B.C.
“As one of the first communities in B.C. who adopted the Health Connect Registry in 2021, the Richmond Primary Care Network was able to expand access to care for Richmond residents,” explains Jorge Hernández, Program Lead with the Richmond Division of Family Practice and Richmond Primary Care Networks. “Its adoption also meant an important step in reducing the strain on emergency departments and walk-in clinics, improving health outcomes for individuals, and supporting a meaningful and positive health experience for patients and providers.”
The recent expansion of the Health Connect Registry allows more unattached residents to register in Richmond.
“Our Attachment team is working to decrease the attachment gap in Richmond by using accurate and accessible information from the Health Connect Registry,” explains Hernández.
Patients can be connected to a primary care provider based on health needs, the provider’s ability to take on those needs, and the region.
“The Health Connect Registry is a crucial action that delivers on our government’s commitment to strengthen health care, and it will help us provide better, easier access to primary care for generations to come,” says B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix.
“Between the new doctors who signed up with our new-to-practice incentive program, doctors who are joining the new payment model, new Nurse Practitioners and the many more to come, we are ensuring people throughout the province can connect with those primary care providers and others as medical professionals enter family practice and build their patient panel,” he adds.
The Health Connect Registry is the patient-facing side of the Province’s action plan to strengthen primary care and to better connect people to primary care providers. That plan includes:
a new Family Physician compensation model to attract and retain Family Physicians, which has nearly 3,300 signups.
a new-to-practice incentive program that has 156 new family doctors registered.
a new provincial roster for individual Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners to manage their patient panel information, and to identify when they can accept new patients.
a new clinic and provider registry for medical directors and staff to provide information about their clinics so that the government can better support practitioner needs.
working directly with Doctors of BC and Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC to support Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners with new registries.
adding more coordinators who will help connect Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners to patients locally.
more incentives for clinics, Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners.
a broader health human resources strategy to recruit and retain more health professionals to ensure British Columbians get the health services they need and are cared for by a healthy workforce.
providing more support for new team-based primary care in family practice clinics, urgent and primary-care centres, community health centres, nurse practitioner clinics and First Nations primary-care clinics.
Through the registry, B.C. will have a comprehensive list of who is looking for a primary care provider and who already has one, as well as which providers and clinics can accept new patients. Starting Nov. 30, 2023, and continuing quarterly, the Province will report on progress to add more Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners, and on connecting more patients from the registry to a primary care provider.
The B.C. Ministry of Health has announced its plan to transform everyday health care for Richmond residents by establishing three Primary Care Networks (PCNs) designed to bring additional health care resources and support to the city.
Up to 70 new health care providers will be recruited to support the transformation, including Family Physicians (FPs), Nurse Practitioners (NPs), and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) such as Physiotherapists and Clinical Pharmacists.
“We know that many people living within Richmond have had challenges getting access to the everyday health care they need for themselves and their families,” says Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Creating these Primary Care Networks will allow health care professionals to work together in a team-based environment to help address long-standing gaps in primary care access for people in this community.”
The three networks will be the Richmond West, Richmond City Centre and Richmond East PCNs. Each PCN partners new and existing health care professionals with the health authority and community organizations as part of a networked, team-based approach to providing care.
“This is a time of unprecedented change and opportunity for family medicine, and the Richmond Division of Family Practice is eager to work toward a more accessible and coordinated system of primary care through the development of primary care networks,” says Dr. Rachila Sharma Aucone, Board Chair, Richmond Divisions of Family Practice. “This initiative will provide team-based care to our patients and greater support to family doctors practicing in Richmond.”
Each network will provide a full range of accessible, everyday health services, such as maternity or end-of-life care, to better support patients and providers. Together, these PCNs will see community partners work to attach tens of thousands of patients in Richmond to regular primary care.
“Vancouver Coastal Health is constantly looking at how we can expand and enhance services to better care for clients in need in our communities, when and where they need it,” says Mary Ackenhusen, President and CEO of Vancouver Coastal Health. “These networks will bring together and coordinate health care providers, services, and programs, making it easier for Richmond residents to access care providers, to receive follow-up, and to connect to other services they may need. We are excited to be a part of this new model of care serving our Richmond community.”
The three networks in Richmond were developed to better meet the community’s specific needs. These priority needs include:
increased attachment for Richmond residents to a regular primary care provider
enhanced coordination of primary and community services with a focus on improving care for seniors
enhanced cultural safety and culturally appropriate care for Indigenous and immigrant residents
increased team-based resources to better meet the needs of people with mild to moderate chronic disease/conditions. These resources include health promotion services that respond to population health needs.
The Richmond Primary Care Networks initiative is a partnership between the Ministry of Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and the Richmond Division of Family Practice.
The Ministry of Health will provide approximately $15 million in annual funding to the Richmond region by the third year, as net new positions are added and as patients are attached.
