Your COA / Votre association
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(continued from page 5)
Meeting discussions surrounded areas including government advocacy, the employment situation and the economics of medicine in Canada as it currently stands. On the advocacy front, a meeting was arranged on January 12th, 2017 with senior policy advisers to the federal Minister of Health. We have engaged a government relations consultant to contribute to the efforts and projects being led by Trinity Wittman, the COA’s Manager of Advocacy and Development, as well as our CEO, Doug Thomson.
Contents / Sommaire Your COA / Votre association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Clinical Features, Debates & Research / Débats, recherche et articles cliniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Advocacy & Health Policy / Défense des intérêts et politiques en santé . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
During the meeting with the federal policy advisors, we referred to the COA’s Position Statement on Access to Orthopaedic Care and the importance of offering patients access to timely, appropriate orthopaedic care, thereby avoiding MSK disability and discomfort.
Foundation / Fondation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
The COA recognizes that there are many successful models of care across Canada that have demonstrated efficient, costeffective methods for government monies to increase access to care on many fronts. Some of the innovations that were cited in the meeting include better training and more information for primary care physicians resulting in more appropriate referrals to orthopaedic specialists, better utilization of allied health providers, digital innovation and technology, use of registries to track performance, and central intake models. Patient satisfaction is also an important outcome, with reduction in wait times and access to quality care often resulting in a more positive experience for orthopaedic patients.
role. As Chair, Dr. Grant brings along two years of experience as a member of this committee and will be reaching out to the membership for input on reinforcing the COA’s benefits and value programs.
The advisors were receptive to the idea of cost-neutral innovations, but noted that the federal government is hesitant to commit more financial resources to MSK care, although there have been precedents in the past to target transfer of payments for certain programs. They are now opting to approach individual provincial governments with similar models and arguments to help advance this cause. A summary of the discussions with the federal policy advisors can be found on page 44 of the Bulletin.
We would like to encourage all of you to make plans to attend the Annual Meeting in Ottawa this June 15-18. Hotel space is filling up quickly so you are encouraged to make reservations and travel plans as soon as possible. Lastly, if you have not yet renewed your COA membership, please proceed to do so and take advantage of the reduced registration fees by registering for the Annual Meeting by June 9.
Training & Practice Management / Formation et gestion d’une pratique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
At this point in time, with the proposed restrictions on entering the United States and the obviously ever changing political situation, we would like to reaffirm the fact that the COA recognizes that its membership is a culturally diverse group. We stand for basic Canadian values including inclusiveness and recognizing that many of our members come from various cultural backgrounds.
We look forward to seeing you in Ottawa.
On another note, I would like to officially welcome Dr. John Grant as our Membership Committee Chair. We also would like to thank Dr. Dominique Rouleau for her previous work in this
Annual Meeting Moments
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COA Bulletin ACO - Spring / Printemps 2017
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