Central Okanagan Division of Family Practice

RACE - Project Overview

Rapid Access to Consultative Expertise (RACE) is a prototype program designed to increase family physician access to specialist consultation and to improve communication and knowledge transfer between different care providers.  Physicians are able to reach out to designated specialists by phone for brief telephone consultations with the expectation of contacting a specialist within a two hour window. The program currently exists in Providence Health Care and Northern Interior Health, with a number of disciplines already participating.  Chronic pain specialists participating in RACE also providing consults to physicians within the Fraser Health Authority. 

This project will aim to bring together a number of stakeholder groups to develop a RACE program for the Central Okanagan area.  The program will start by engaging with all specialties including but not limited to: Obstetricians, Radiologists, Endocrinologists, Physiatrists, and Orthopedic Surgeons. Once we have established a base of specialties we will quickly move to a second phase which the goal of engaging regional partners in other areas of IH.  Our intent is to align outcomes to better support doctors throughout Interior Health.
 

Orthopedics and Phystiatry – Project Overview

Ortho-reconstruction procedures account for 2 of the top 10 reasons for admission to Kelowna General Hospital.  With the disproportionate number of seniors in the Central Okanagan, it is anticipated that demand on Orthopedic Surgeons and related specialties will continue to increase. Initial engagement with Physiatrists, Orthopedic Surgeons, and Allied Health professionals indicates a desire to concentrate on improved quality of care of the elderly, pre and post-surgery. In focus would be fall prevention, pre and post-operative care, musculoskeletal considerations (MSK) and related comorbidities. Where appropriate the project will seek to leverage the MSK Practice Support Program Module.

Some of the current gaps or issues include:

  • Significant wait times for ortho-reconstruction consultation and procedures
  • An identified desire to increase patient knowledge around more effectively managing musculoskeletal considerations while awaiting ortho-reconstruction procedures
  • Fall prevention awareness both in the community. Overlaps with ongoing polypharmacy and geriatric mental health work exist.

The purpose of this initiative is to:

  • Conduct a current state assessment to identify areas of practice which work collaboratively to provide care for ortho-reconstruction patients
  • Identify processes to provide better patient care (including pain management) for patients awaiting ortho-reconstruction procedures
  • Identify and support linkages to the third initiative (Health Promotions) which aims to help patients lead healthier lifestyles, with the long term goal of reducing or delaying the number of ortho-reconstruction procedures required in the Central Okanagan

For further information regarding either of these two projects, please contact Tracy Head at 250-826-5857
 

PIC – Orthopedics and Psychiatry

Ortho-reconstruction procedures account for 2 of the top 10 reasons for admission to Kelowna General Hospital.  With the disproportionate number of seniors in the Central Okanagan, it is anticipated that demand on Orthopedic Surgeons and related specialties will continue to increase. Initial engagement with Physiatrists, Orthopedic Surgeons, and Allied Health professionals indicates a desire to concentrate on improved quality of care of the elderly, pre and post-surgery. In focus will be fall prevention, pre and post-operative care, musculoskeletal considerations (MSK) and related comorbidities. Where appropriate the project will seek to leverage the MSK Practice Support Program Module.
 

PIC - Health Promotion

Since October 2012 the Central Okanagan Division of Family Practice has been working on a Health Promotions Project. This project was undertaken to address the incidence of chronic disease and other illnesses related to lifestyle. The focus of the project has been working with specialists and family physicians to develop a coalition including community partners. This work has been completed with the aim of improving the health and well-being of our community through education around healthy lifestyle choices. Aspects of this include considering our access to food and activity, with the goal that the "Central Okanagan is the healthiest community in Canada".

New Shared Care resources will enable Health Promotions work to continue with a specific focus on:

  • healthy lifestyles for seniors, which aligns with our proposed Orthopedics and Physiatry project and our GP for Me Project
  • chronic disease, which also aligns with the GP for Me Initiative.
  • development of a Physician Toolkit: a set of tools for doctors to use in their offices in real time using evidence based patient self-management principles such as the 5As.
  • establish community links for redirection to specific local materials or services

PIC - RACE

Rapid Access to Consultative Expertise (RACE) is a prototype program designed to increase family physician access to specialist consultation and to improve communication and knowledge transfer between different care providers.  This project will aim to bring together a number of stakeholder groups to develop a RACE program for the Central Okanagan area.  The program will start by engaging with all specialties including but not limited to: Obstetricians, Radiologists, Endocrinologists, Physiatrists, and Orthopedic Surgeons. Once we have established a base of specialties we will quickly move to a second phase which the goal of engaging regional partners in other areas of IH.  Our intent is to work closely with the Interdivisional Strategic Council and expand as capacity permits.  Kootenay Boundary has already received funding for a similar RACE project. Our intent is to align outcomes to better support doctors throughout Interior Health.