Ms. Heather Gummow, Provincial Manager, RCME Community Program, RCCbc would like to welcome you to the RCME Community Program newsletter page. This communication aims to highlight key initiatives and community developments within the new RCME Community Program – an initiative of the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues (JSC).
Newsletters will be released on a quarterly basis. Click on a month below to view the newsletter.
Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS)
Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS) is helping rural providers deliver timely, patient-centred care closer to home.
As many of you know, RTVS has grown and continues to grow. A year ago there were five pathways and now RTVS has expanded to four Instant Access (24/7) Pathways and five Quick Reply (weekdays 9 to late afternoon) Pathways.
For this reason, RCCbc has created a new, printable poster for providers (see attachment) so they can see, at a glance, what help is available to them.
For anyone who wants further background information:
RTVS has Instant Access, Quick Reply and Patient-Facing Pathways.
Benefits of the RTVS Pathways:
Improved accessibility of care for rural communities to meet individual health needs
Reduction of out-of-pocket costs for patients seeking care
Fosters patient-centred care by bridging specialties and transfers in a timely manner
Relationship-building among physicians and care team that fosters a community of practice
Increased confidence and reduced isolation of physicians and nurses in rural and remote areas
Increased mentoring and education opportunities for providers, especially new-to-practice residents
Providers based in rural areas have 24/7 access to Peer-to-Peer Pathways for Emergency, Critical Care, Pediatrics and Maternity & Newborn. In addition, there are several Quick Reply services in Dermatology, Hematology, Rheumatology, Thrombosis, and myofascial pain. A quick-reply Post COVID-19 Recovery Clinic Referral pathway has also been added.
RTVS can also be used to connect patients to providers. The First Nations Health Authority’s First Nations Doctor of the Day and First Nations Virtual Substance Use and Psychiatric Service pathways and the 8-1-1 HealthLink BC Emergency iDoctor in-assistance (HEiDi) are the patient-facing pathways operating through RTVS.
Please see attached poster for details on how to connect, through Zoom, or a telephone line, to the Peer-to-Peer Pathways.
Anyone looking for further information on how to set up the Zoom contacts can visit https://rccbc.ca/rtvs/.
RCCbc Thiving Network - Compassion Cultivation Training
The Rural Coordination Centre of BC's Thriving network is offering an eight-week Compassion Cultivation Training course for health care professionals. The course will start in September and be led by Dr. Shireen Mansouri, a certified Compassion Cultivation Teacher. The course will explore ways for health care professionals to cultivate and strengthen compassion for themselves and others, learn how to regulate their sympathetic system, and examine compassion fatigue, moral injury and more. The course costs $250, but is free-of-charge for students and residents. For more information and to register, email Dr. Mansouri at mansourishireen@gmail.com.
