Digital Health Governance and Policies

Doctors of BC is committed to ensuring that digital health technologies support a more accessible and sustainable health care system. As more digital solutions are implemented within BC’s system, having a strong policy position supports us to be consistent in our approach to advocacy for solutions that reflect your priority needs and concerns.

Below are Doctors of BC Digital Health Policies:

• Virtual Care Policy
• Governance for EMR Data used for Secondary purpose
• Health Information Management and Technology Principles
• Email Communication with Patients

As part of our ongoing advocacy for technology solutions that reflects members’ needs and concerns, Doctors of BC is working with the Ministry of Health on digital health governance. We have a key role to play in working to:

• Ensure opportunities for physician input on proposed provincial digital health governance structures.
• Influence decision-making on projects, new and existing technologies, clinical practice, related regulatory policies and frameworks, and more.
• Participate in the oversight of digital health initiatives as a whole and the policies surrounding them (as per the 2019 PMA).

In the past few years, Doctors of BC has:

• Advised the Ministry of Health of the need for inclusion of clinical perspectives, role clarity, and physician participation in decision-making at governance tables.
• Provided feedback on alternate governance structures proposed by the Ministry of Health.
• Confirmed the need for governance structures that are nimble and support quick decision-making, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry has since undertaken a review of previous governance structures (see Governance Lessons Learned below). We continue to advocate on behalf of our members for ongoing collaboration on this foundational component of the future of digital health in BC. We’ll continue to share more information as it is available.

New and future governance structures must:

• Support leadership and timely decision-making
• Provide role clarity
• Ensure full-continuum clinical and patient representation
• Be connected to existing governance structures, ensuring decision-making is not done in isolation
• Maximize partner representation and engagement (e.g., JCCs)

• Participatory: bring together a group of health care partners affected by digital health decisions
• Patient-centered: continuously seek to improve the overall quality of patient care and reflect the communities it represents
• Appropriately delegate authority: roles and scope are clear with authority at the appropriate level to allow for timely decision-making
• Adaptive/responsive: nimble and responsive to the priorities of the health system while balancing partners’ competing needs and emerging interests
• Integrated/aligned: integrate clinical/business and technology perspectives so that digital/technology is an enabler, ensuring governance tables are also connected