Thanks Doc - Recognizing family doctors

May 19th marks World Family Doctor day, and we are proud to take this opportunity to BC's 5,000 family physicians.

Your family doctor is central to your good health. Family docs support your well-being in many fundamental ways. Research shows that continuous doctor-patient relationships leads to the best health outcomes.

In addition to providing day-to-day care for you and your families, family doctors are leading change and advocating on your behalf, working together with partners to find solutions for a better health care system. They are involved in policy, research, education, and promoting innovative new approaches to the use of technology in and out of the office.

The past year alone has seen strides towards improved health care for our communities thanks to the efforts of family physicians here in BC.

Promoting healthy lifestyles

Dr Roger Crittenden, a family physician in Kelowna, together with his colleagues at the Central Okanagan Division of Family Practice, developed a new kind of prescription for patients – a prescription to take regular walks or hit a yoga class!

The pilot project links patients to local community fitness centers.  "We all realized we've become a sedentary and inactive society and the phrase we use is 'Exercise as medicine,'“ Dr. Crittenden told Daybreak South. "Increasingly we know this, that [exercise] improves many health parameters — mental and physical, and many types of diseases."

Learn more about this initiative. 

Helping patients have tough conversations

Dr David Attwell, a family physician in Victoria, says the day will come when having an advance care plan will be as normal as strapping on your helmet before you go biking or skiing. Dr Attwell says too often in our society we fear discussions about the “D” word. “If we are going to start a cultural change of normalizing discussions around end-of-life care, dying and death, we as physicians are best suited to initiate it because of the relationship and trust patients have in us.”

Dr Attwell cares a lot about this important issue, so much so that he took on the role of  lead physician on the working group that prepared the Doctors of BC policy paper “It’s Time to Talk: Advance Care Planning in British Columbia.”

Our family docs take care of you and your family throughout your lives, and they are there to talk with you about the all-important end-of-life decisions to make things easier for your family.

Using technology for better care 

Women in rural areas have unique challenges to accessing care pre and post pregnancy. Geography, weather, and costs of travel can all create significant barriers to receiving timely maternity care. That’s why a pilot project was undertaken by the Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice and the Shared Care Committee to allow expectant mothers to participate in virtual, tele-maternity visits with their care providers. 

Dr. Jeanette Boyd, physician lead for the project and maternity care provider based in Nelson, B.C. says “Women benefit greatly by being able to receive care within their own communities, while still fostering the important relationship with their birth doctor/midwife and gaining from their insight and expertise. In addition, the birth team has much to gain through this opportunity to build relationships and learn from each other. ”

Learn more. 

These examples are just some of the many reasons we are thanking doctors in BC this year.

Thank you, Doc, for caring about your patients, your communities and for working together to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Join us in saying thanks to family doctors by tweeting @doctorsofbc and including the hashtag #ThanksDoc.