Health Matters - Apple Magazine Health Matters Fall 2016 | Page 6

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Three family doctors
reflect on PCNs
Dr. Jessica Orr
Calgary Foothills PCN
“(Going from) doctors managing
patients to clinical pharmacists
and clinical nurses partnering with
patients to manage their chronic
illness together has been a huge
shift. There is a definite sense of
patients taking charge of their
illnesses under this guidance.
Doctors are still aware and involved
in patients’ care, but team members
have much more time to work with
patients, help them learn
about their hypertension, diabetes
or cholesterol and help manage
their illnesses and follow up on
their progress.”
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HEALTH MATTERS
FALL 2016
Dr. Phillip van der Merwe
Calgary West Central PCN Dr. John Coppola
Calgary West Central PCN
“Alberta is a leader in primary health
care reform in this country. We
have a ways to go, but we are doing
something pretty fantastic here.
Team-based care gives the patient
the ability to access the right person
for the right problem at pretty much
the right time. I don’t always have
the expertise or time to counsel
somebody about their condition.
If it’s a mental health issue, then it’s
better to have a psychologist do
that. When we’re in a team practice,
we can surround our patients with
the appropriate care. It’s quite a
phenomenal improvement.” “Over my 30-plus-year career, I’ve
seen medical charts go from being
on recipe cards and paper and, in
the past 10 to 15 years, to electronic
medical records. These records and
the provincial electronic record,
Alberta Netcare, have transformed
the collection, use and sharing of
clinical information to improve care
across the continuum. The next step
is to use this rich source of data for
proactive management of patients,
healthcare service delivery planning,
research, quality improvement and
the professional development of
healthcare providers.”