SOS Primary Care Network Report – Vulnerabilities and Solutions –

September 2019
South Okanagan Similkameen Primary Care Network
The first five months of Primary Care Network funding have been full of great progress, allowing our region to address vulnerabilities and to strengthen our existing network of care, as we continue our shift towards team-based primary care delivery.

Vulnerabilities and Solutions
For context we have highlighted each of our networks of care, their vulnerabilities, and solutions to address those vulnerabilities. Some of these solutions pre-date Primary Care Network funding, some are being shored up by Primary Care Network funding, while still others are being introduced as a result of Primary Care Network funding.

We have also highlighted some process issues and proposed solutions in order to increase the success of Primary Care Network implementation, which began in Penticton, Summerland and Okanagan Falls, with service plan deveopment underway with the communities of Oliver, Osoyoos, Osoyoos Indian Band, Keremeos, Lower Similkameen Indian Band, Upper Similkameen Indian Band, Hedley and Princeton.

To access the report, click on the link  #1 SOS PCN report – Sept 2019

South Okanagan Similkameen Primary Care Network Issues Paper 

The South Okanagan Similkameen (SOS) Primary Care Network (PCN) encompasses the entire SOS region. It serves approximately 90,000 residents in 8 communities.
The following paper contains an environmental scan of issues that have surfaced in our region. Input was given by physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Interior Health, indigenous partners, local government, and patient voices. 
Similar concerns were echoed by other Wave 1 communities.

  • There has been no interest in GP contracts.
  • Expectations around NPs overheads shifted after our funding was approved, without consultation or additional funds..
  • Allied Health professional (AH) and Registered Nurse (RN) and Pharmacist overhead is not adequate to cover overhead costs.
  • In our experience, NPs need support to transition into full-service family practice.
  • Data infra structure is not being co-designed with local PCNs.
  • At steady state, access to 11 sources of data is required for PCN reporting.
    There is an overall lack of a standardized approach in operationalizing data infra structure PCNs from various sources.
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