BC Doctors champion professionalism, strong relationships

Vancouver, BC – Strong relationships between physicians, patients and administrators are more important now than ever before because of huge shifts in health care, according to a new policy paper released by the BC Medical Association.

The paper, Working Together: An Exploration of Professional Relationships, says advances in technology, new medical treatments, online medical information, and health care funding pressures are making it challenging to meet expectations.

"Medical professionalism and altruism have always been, and continue to be, strong values for physicians,” said Dr Alan Ruddiman, chair of the working group that developed the paper. "However, we need to be continually working to build stronger relationships with all of our partners. The paper provides tools to help do that, and the BCMA will lead physicians to help achieve a stronger health care system.”

The paper recommends that:

• Physicians emphasize health education, health literacy, and work to empower patients by providing advice on the best use of online health information.
• The BCMA engage with patient interest groups in the development and promotion of education tools for patients.
• Health Authorities and the BCMA work together to create an environment that promotes professional working relationships

"Physicians have solutions to offer to help meet our health care challenges," added Dr Ruddiman. "Our collaborative programs with government show that we can successfully be partners in progress. As the group representing BC’s physicians, will be working to create an environment where we can expand and strengthen this collaborative approach so that patients get the best possible care."

The paper can be found here.

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For further information:
Sharon Shore
604-638-2832
604-306-1866 (pager)