JCCs – physicians and partners connect for health

It’s hard to believe that eight weeks ago on February 25th, over 480 physicians, healthcare teams and leaders, gathered in Vancouver for the Joint Collaborative Committee (JCC) Pre-Forum. 

At that time, we were still able to appreciate being able to share ideas and knowledge face-to-face as the JCC event ‘Creating Connections for Health’ intended. 

This was the fifth year the JCCs (GPSC, Specialist Services, Shared Care, and the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues) successfully partnered with the BCPSQC’s Quality Forum to showcase the work of the committees, and to provide opportunities for the health care community to come together to explore future innovations.

The JCC Pre-Forum event has become known for this opportunity, attracting greater numbers of physicians as a result. Over 57 per cent of the 480 attendees were physicians this year, up from 37 per cent last year. 

Highlights of the day

The day promised something for everyone, with a diverse agenda featuring speakers, rapid-fire presentations, and storyboards – each describing JCC improvement initiatives from conception to conclusion, including solutions, challenges, impact and sustainability, and key partnerships.

But first, a First Nations welcome from Tsawaysia Spukwus energized the room. Shared Care Co-Chairs, Dr Ken Hughes (Doctors of BC), and Shana Ooms (Ministry of Health) emceed, representing the unique partnership between the Ministry of Health and Doctors of BC that started with the formation of the JCCs many years ago. Doctors of BC President, Dr Kathleen Ross shared what she’s learned from her long involvement in JCC initiatives in her community; highlighting the importance of building relationships and connection for successful collaboration - while acknowledging that collaboration isn’t always easy.

And setting the tone for the day, Pat and Melody, two family members involved in a Palliative Care project in the East Kootenays, told two very different end-of-life stories of their loved ones – thought-provoking words demonstrating the power of story to affect change. 

After lunch, keynote speaker Dr Danièle Behn Smith, an Eh Cho Dene and Metis physician, took us on her journey from burnout and ill-health, to resiliency and recovery, brought about by her shift to practicing functional medicine. This blend of Western medicine with Indigenous beliefs of health and wellness, looks at ‘what’s missing’ and ‘what’s interfering’ in a patient’s life to understand root causes of symptoms to support healing. Dr Behn Smith shared her hopes for this integrated model for Indigenous communities and others.

A storyboard reception wrapped up the day, with awards presented to the Co-Chairs favourite: Data Integration Initiative on the Sunshine Coast: David and Goliath, and the People’s Choice: Physician Networks: Improving Physician Satisfaction and Patient Care one Network at a Time. You can view all abstracts and contacts for work presented at the event here.

It’s uncertain when we can all gather again, but in the meantime, take a look at a selection of photos from the day (login and password JCC-2020). We also interviewed your colleagues for a short video for their thoughts on the value of engaging in JCC work.

JCC update

In the weeks following the event, the JCCs and all involved, have continued to ‘Create Connections for Health’ in response to the needs of physicians and patients during the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, including expedited fee codes, virtual care support, and reallocation of funding to COVID-19 activities. Many details can be found here.