Integrated health networks in place

By Fred Davies
July 7^th, 2008

Talk of building a hospital in Oceanside is sure to continue, but that's not stopping the Island's health authority from moving ahead with other plans. Three new integrated health networks have been introduced aimed at improving efficiencies within the overstrained health system.

The Vancouver Island Health Authority said they will provide improved access to medical care in the Parksville/Qualicum Beach area and in Sooke and Port Alberni.

IHN team members - nurses, social workers, dietitians and medical office assistants - have already begun working closely with family physicians to identify patients who meet the INH criteria (in Oceanside patients must be over 50 and living with two or more chronic diseases). The plan is to initiate face-to-face meetings in doctors' offices linking patients to appropriate care.

"We wanted to start with where the physicians need the most support,"said VIHA's director of primary health care and chronic disease management, Victoria Power-Pollitt, adding the demographic of Oceanside made enhanced chronic care for seniors an obvious choice for funding.

"We have nine physicians that are early adopters and we have space for 11 more."

Power-Pollitt said the program is focused on co-ordinating with doctors whose practices already serve a high volume of people meeting the criteria of two chronic health conditions - such as heart disease, kidney disease or hypertension. Cooking classes for diabetics and exercise programs are the type of initiatives that could be adopted in an effort to relieve stresses on both doctors and physicians and reduce the need for patients to make a trip to the hospital in Nanaimo she said.

"There will be social support work as well,"said Power Pollitt. "We've leased a couple of offices in the Parksville medical centre and relocated the diabetes education centre. We're trying to centralize a bit.

"In theory we haven't reached all the patients yet ... this is meant to be a significant initiative."

The move - made possible by $1 million in provincial funding - comes in wake of a report issued in May by an Oceanside primary health care task force that contained four recommendations on how to bolster doctors numbers and improve urgent health care service. Suggestions of the task force include: enhanced operation of the Parksville after hours clinic with urgent care becoming the responsibility of VIHA, an integrated approach to physician recruitment and retention, paid physician coverage for new residential care facilities and more dollars for improvements to chronic disease management.

VIHA board chair Jac Kreut said the IHNs will give chronic care patients better control over their own health and "will also serve to encourage people to live more independently within their own communities while reducing the number of hospital admissions and avoidable emergency department visits."

reporter@pqbnews.com




Original Source:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/parksville_qualicumbeachnews/news/24038879.html