Team Up! Team-based primary and community care in action

The transition to a post-pandemic world has drawn increased attention to the tensions, pressures and capacity challenges that are experienced by health care providers and patients in primary care systems around the world. In the face of these challenges, in British Columbia, policy makers, funders, providers, and patients are working through another transition- the transition to team based primary...

It’s the end of Season five! In this wrap-up episode Morgan and Sarah reflect on the variety of roles that were showcased this season, share some season highlights and key recommendations for action and give a with a sneak peak at what’s to come- first a break, then SEASON 6! Exciting plans are already in the works for Season 6, which will be focused on PRIMARY CARE CLINIC STORIES and (spoiler ale...

In this episode Morgan and Sarah explore the Physician role in Primary Care. Physicians are the foundation of the primary care system and support cradle to grave care for a wide range of patient needs in a variety of care models. They provide care in rural and urban settings, in clinical settings that range from UPCCs to community health centres and FNPCIs. Team-based care is an opportunity for ph...

Who doesn’t like Unicorns? Join Sarah and Morgan as they talk about primary care unicorns- or unique roles that are being tested in primary care- and the potential for extending the boundaries of how we think about primary care teams. In this episode we highlight the stories of BC’s one (and only) kinesiologist currently working in a primary care team as well as learning about the potential of add...

In this episode Morgan and Sarah explore Indigenous Advocate and Indigenous liaison roles in Primary Care. Indigenous Liaisons and Advocates work across the primary care system to support Indigenous people in accessing care. This can also include supporting system transformation towards more culturally safe care, providing education to healthcare colleagues, and working alongside Indigenous Nation...

In this episode Morgan and Sarah learn more about the different kinds of roles that Family Nurse Practitioners (NPs) can take on in primary care teams in BC. NPs are uniquely positioned in BC and can act as Primary Care Providers and/or work with focused populations. In conversations with NPs who work in a range of models of care including NP clinics, Urgent and Primary Care Centres and Community...

In this episode Sarah and Morgan explore the role of Nurses in Primary Care. Nurses have an incredibly wide scope of practice and fill many roles in primary care - this presents a really unique opportunity to tailor Nurse in primary care roles to the needs of patients. We will hear from three primary care Nurses who work in UPCCs and PCN clinics about what they do, how they work, and what they enj...

In this episode Morgan and Sarah talk ‘bridges’ and ‘anchors’ (or Social Workers and Counsellors) in the context of primary care teams. Weaving together the stories and experiences of a number of primary care providers, social workers, counsellors and other team members, Morgan and Sarah discuss the scope and added value these roles can bring to primary care teams. Key take aways (that are of cour...

In this episode Sarah and Morgan explore the role of Pharmacists in Primary Care. Pharmacists provide a unique lens to care through their detective skills, patient education focus, and deep expertise on medications. We will hear from two Pharmacists about the scope of practice for primary care Pharmacists and the ways in which PCNs and clinical teams can best utilize their skills to care for compl...

In this episode Morgan and Sarah dive into the role of the Medical Office Assistant in primary care teams. From team culture curator, to scheduling master, to on-boarder for new team members, and patient connector, MOAs are often the ‘glue’ that can hold teams together. In this episode we have the opportunity to hear from a number of MOAs, as well other other providers working in a range of clinic...

Patients are (of course) key members of primary care teams. In this episode Morgan and Sarah dive into the ‘patient role’ in primary care teams. To prepare for this episode the ISU connected with a handful of patient advocates from across BC. Drawing on the stories and experiences from these interviews Morgan and Sarah weave together aspects of the patients role in teams to talk about 3 things: Pa...

In this Episode Morgan and Sarah reunite to kick of season 5 of Team Up: “Role-Call”, focused on -you guessed it- roles in primary care teams. In this introductory episode Morgan and Sarah discuss the plans for season 5, with ~10 role-focused episodes that are going to be released weekly! As they set up the season by re-iterating the value of high functioning teams in the context of the challenges...

Sarah is back with a cameo to end off Season 4.  And what better way to end our tech for primary care teams season than by putting Morgan in the hot seat Sarah has questions you might also have about Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and how primary care teams can use them better. Morgan has his best professor elbow patches on and is ready to talk about: Care Planning and EMRs Team members using d...

A bonus episode for TeamUP Tech for Teams season - what about Dr AI? Some useful links:  2021 “ Primer for artificial intelligence in primary care” by Jacqueline K. Kueper in Canadian Family Physician: https://www.cfp.ca/content/67/12/889.long HIPAA Compliance and ChatGPT https://compliancy-group.com/hipaa-and-chatgpt/ 2023, Foundation models for generalist medical artificial intelligence, by M Mo...

In this episode of TeamUP! Morgan talks about how your team can use a patient portal to engage patients and build capacity in your practice.  Portals can be as simple as making your website more valuable by promoting your team or as complex as a way for patients to asynchronously engaged with their care team. Based on request, we are continuing this theme of technology for primary care teams - ple...

In this teamBIT, Morgan reflects on using telehealth - it is here to stay in primary care. If you are interested, think about using telehealth for case conferencing. Ask members of your team if anyone has an interesting in doing a virtual group visit - an educational session - for your practice. This is a good way to engage more peripheral team members who are part of your primary care network and...

In this episode of TeamUP! we have a quick teamBIT in our tech for teams season, this one is on Electronic Medical Records. I jump into thinking about how to use the EMR for decision support and recalls and admit that we have to start with improving data quality and encourage teams to think about promoting someone on the team to a role of data quality improver or recaller. As always - please send...

In this short season of primary care TeamUP! teamBITS, Morgan is going solo with a few teamBITS on different, common technology that primary care teams are using. This season comes from a few requests from you - so please do send us feedback: Email us: isu@familymed.ubc.ca Or through: teamuppod.com And don’t worry … Sarah will be back! She’s deep into the audio of TeamUP! Season 5, which is shapin...

That’s a wrap! We finish Season 3 of TeamUP with some reflections on the topics covered and talk about next steps for TeamUP. Also, the BC Team-Based Care Advisory Committee is setting up a way to help address your questions on how to do team based care better. First you can search the website for useful resources at teambasedcarebc.ca And now, if you don’t see an answer, then reach out to learnin...

This episode is a little bit different. Morgan and Sarah had the opportunity to have a conversation with some of the new Team Based Care Coaching Team from Doctors of BC. In this episode we share back their perspectives on the experiences they have had working as ‘at the elbow’ coaching supports in BC. The coaches share some stories from working with distributed teams and highlight a number of key...

Roles roles roles. In this episode Sarah and Morgan talk about the importance of role clarity in teams, and in distributed teams in particular. They also give some great examples of tangible things that can be tried in teams to improve role clarity. Guest featured in this episode: Kaila McGann and Christine Matuschewski from the STEPS CHC ( Steps TeamUp Webinar ) Erin Lutz, Doctors of BC (Team Bas...

In this episode Morgan tries to convince Sarah about the value of doing another survey - and he succeeds! (well almost) We are talking about doing team pulse checks - very rapid polls or surveys to get actionable feedback within your team as a way to build up positive momentum and a sense of being a team. Think about a pulse survey as checking team vitals. Some example Primary Care Pulse Checks IS...

In this episode Sarah provides an overview of Team Mapping. Team mapping is a tool to support primary care clinical teams build shared understanding of roles, expertise and how a team wants to work together. In this episode, we’ll first talk about the Team Mapping session itself as most people want to hear about that. Then we’ll dive into a bit more about the preparation and feedback stages. So, i...

Good handover of care within primary care teams is essential. It is harder to do well when you are distributed. In this short TeamBIT Morgan talks about: Team norms for shared care Explicit handover And how to use these in different kinds of distributed teams.

Morgan highlights the distinct value for case conferencing in distributed primary care teams. How to think distributed first and how to manage virtual and distributed teams case conferencing with patients as well. Case conferences can be easier for distributed teams to set up and is something you can try out without a bit change commitment.