Dear Members,

As we gather with family and loved ones over this holiday season, there can be a mixture of emotions. For some, it is the first season with a new baby, partner, friend or in-laws. For others, it is a reminder of those who can no longer join in the festivities. For many of us, it’s both. Celebration and grief are not mutually exclusive. They are not opposites on the spectrum of emotion. They are evidence of the complexity and variability in human existence. 

In healthcare we form relationships; with colleagues and patients; healthcare administrators and allied healthcare providers; organizations and individuals. This year BC Family Doctors has been working tirelessly to build and strengthen relationships with many stakeholders who are working hard to create an effective and unbiassed healthcare system. 

At the UBCM conference, we empowered municipalities to understand that the healthcare crisis isn’t just an issue for the provincial or federal government. We asked municipalities to mandate zoned space for primary care provision in new commercial developments, a motion that was passed. 

We continued to make improvements in billing fee codes, with an emphasis on simplification and access across the spectrum of family physicians. 

We welcomed new staff to BC Family Doctors to increase the scope and depth of our organization.

We shone light on the challenges faced by our rural colleagues and communities with regards to equitable access to healthcare resources with our Fair Care Everywhere campaign. 

And we began to implement our first ever strategic plan:

  1. To redefine our collective work and futureproof family medicine
  2. Lead the evolutions of family medicine, and
  3. Deepen physician engagement. 

We can not do this work without you. We need your voice. Tell us about your triumphs and struggles. Better yet, join us on a committee or the board. You will find colleagues who are passionate about healthcare reform and the role we play as specialists in primary care.  

For my part, in addition to meeting with various medical organizations like Doctors of BC, the Family Practice Service Committee, Consultant Specialists of BC, and the BC College of Family Physicians, I have met with family doctors from around the province through conferences or their Divisions of Family Practice. 

We need fewer silos, more solutions. We need to harness the power of the various organizations that represent family physicians and make sure we can maximize the impact we have as family physicians. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported this work over the past year and those who will continue to do so. I look forward to connecting with old colleagues and friends, and I look forward to meeting new ones in the new year. 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Darren Joneson 

BC Family Doctors President 

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