The VA/VC Medical Staff Planetary Health Committee invites physicians, nurse practitioners, and other medical staff who are leading planetary health initiatives that impact the VA and VC communities of care to complete a form that intends to map these various projects. The goal is to identify and connect existing sustainability efforts, build a network of green champions, and establish a knowledge exchange forum to share learnings and amplify impact across … Read More
The potential health risks of wildfire smoke
We’re well into wildfire season and our VA/VC Medical Staff Planetary Health Committee wants us to know the risks so we can protect our health and that of our patients. We turned to VMDAS/VPSA member Dr. Emily Brigham for advice. She’s a respirologist at Vancouver General Hospital as well as an associate professor in the respiratory division at the University of British Columbia and a research scientist at Vancouver Coastal … Read More
VA Provider Digital Health Committee June meeting summary
The VA Provider Digital Health (DHC) Committee meets monthly; members work to identify Cerner changes that would be most helpful to providers. VPSA provides sessional funding to the nine physician representatives on the committee for time spent in meetings and doing other committee work. The following is a summary of the committee’s June 11 meeting. Goals of Care Informatics teams from VCH, PHC, and PHSA are working closely with Regional … Read More
VPSA-funded anesthesiology project sparks widespread interest
When anesthesiologist Dr. Shamir Karmali learned about the many benefits of using total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) to deliver general anesthesia without the use of inhalational anesthetics, he was sold on the idea. He also learned that target-controlled infusions (TCI) are the gold standard means of delivery of TIVA and overcome many barriers to its use. “TIVA has many patient, health-economic, and environmental benefits, but providers under-utilise it due to perceived … Read More
Engaging MSAs in Doctors of BC Strategic Plan and HPOA Changes
The Doctors of BC held a meeting on May 8 to give an overview of their strategic plan, provide an update on the PMA negotiations, and provide information on the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) as well as the College of Physicians and Surgeons’ draft bylaws consultation process. Here are the highlights from that meeting: Doctors of BC strategic plan Doctors of BC President Dr Charlene Lui provided insights into … Read More