February 22, 2024

~shared on behalf of Angela Keenan; Senior Director Emerging & Re-emerging Infections Network (ERIN), and Dr. Shelly McNeil; Senior Medical Director, ERIN & Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases

In response to evolving evidence regarding COVID-19, Omicron sub-variants, protection from vaccine and a review of vaccination policies across other jurisdictions, Nova Scotia Health’s Emerging & Re-emerging Infections Network (ERIN), which includes representation from IWK Health, reviewed existing COVID-19 Immunization policies in place for both organizations. Based on the current available evidence, Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health are amending their respective policies.

Effective February 26, 2024, it will no longer be a requirement for employees, preferred candidates and on-site medical staff to submit proof of primary series COVID-19 immunization. People Services has begun contacting and providing supporting to leaders impacted by the policy change. Letters issued to employees and on-site medical staff will advise them to contact their leader on or after February 26th to discuss return to work options.

A position statement regarding this policy change, can be found on the ERIN HUB HERE.

Emerging & Re-emerging Infections Network

erinnetwork@nshealth.ca

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REMINDER: Five-week countdown to mandatory use of eReferrals

Our April 1 deadline for mandatory use of eReferrals is fast approaching.

What does this mean?

Effective April 1, primary care providers and surgeons will be required to use eReferrals to send and / or receive surgical referrals and referrals for the Diagnostic Imaging services available in the tool. Diagnostic Imaging teams, including radiologists, are already using the tool to manage and coordinate referrals for MRIs and ultrasounds – and will continue to do so as other new modalities are brought online.

What if I still need to be onboarded or trained to use eReferrals?

If you are a primary care provider or surgeon and your office and has not yet completed onboarding to the eReferrals tool, or accessed training supports, it is important that you request support now at: www.referralsns.ca/contact-us.

See what other users are saying about the in-person training:

“Our team here at the Cheticamp Medical Clinic are so happy that the Ocean (eReferrals) Implementation team came to our clinic to help each physician, nurse, and secretary become comfortable with this new platform that we believe will allow for better communication and faster consultations with the most appropriate specialist care for our patients. While change is never easy, it certainly got a lot easier thanks to the team today!”

“The training session was incredibly beneficial. It was very helpful to be provided with the opportunity of 1:1 training. After completion of training all staff very comfortable and prepared to use the Ocean (eReferrals) site. The staff were extremely supportive, answered all applicable questions and made everyone feel at ease. The session was a wonderful experience.”

eReferrals at a glance:

• 91% of NSH surgeons/ 100% of IWK surgeons set up to receive eReferrals.
• 4495 Diagnostic Imaging requisitions (MRIs and ultrasounds) have been sent since the launch of these eReferrals. 
• 16,906 Surgical eReferrals have been sent since launching.
• 91% of Nova Scotia Health surgeons are onboarded to the eReferrals tool and able to receive referrals
• 74% primary care providers registered are set up to send eReferrals.
• 553 (55%) unique providers have submitted a surgical and/or a DI eReferral.

The Nova Scotia Practice Ready Assessment Program (NSPRAP) requires experienced family physicians to be physician assessors of foreign trained family physicians (FTFPs) who have applied to the NSPRAP. As family physician assessors, you will work alongside and supervise these candidates in family practice settings to help determine whether they are ready to practice independently with defined licenses in Nova Scotia. You will be paid stipends for providing supervision and assessing these candidates.

With an escalating demand for additional assessors and supervisors, revised and enhanced guidelines pertaining to the roles associated with NSPRAP have been recently developed. Please refer to this document for a comprehensive outline detailing the roles and corresponding responsibilities. For more information or if you are interested in coming an assessor, visit www.nsprap.ca or contact info@nsprap.ca.

~ shared on behalf of Anna Marenick, Vice President, People, Culture and Belonging

To ensure that every voice is heard and to gather as many insights as possible, we are extending the deadline for the 2024 Nova Scotia Health Pulse Survey to February 27, 2024. Currently, we've received 5,711 responses, and we're eager to gather more valuable feedback.

To access the survey, simply search your inbox for an email from HealthAnalytics@nshealth.ca with the subject line “2024 Nova Scotia Health Pulse Survey”. If you haven't received this email, please check your “Junk” folder. If it is not there, please reach out to TandODInquiries@nshealth.ca with “Pulse Survey” in the subject line.

Please refrain from forwarding your unique survey link to others; each respondent should use their individual link to participate.

Remember, any responses that are provided in the survey will be kept completely confidential and will not be viewed by anyone. The survey responses will be sorted using employee identification numbers, which will allow us to sort the data by zone, site, and occupation. We assure you that all the survey data will be shared in a manner that protects everyone's privacy, ensuring that no one's answers are identifiable.

Don't forget, completing the survey automatically enters you for a chance to win a $100 gift card or the grand prize of $2024!

For more information about the survey including FAQs and more, click here to visit our SharePoint site.  

Thank you for your participation and valuable feedback.

The Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) team is pleased to present a virtual information session on Friday, Feb 23^rd, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon. Dr. Gord Gubitz, Clinical Lead, and John McCarthy, Program Lead, will discuss the criteria for MAiD, and the process we follow in managing cases here in Nova Scotia.

If you are interested in attending: Click here to join the meeting via Microsoft Teams.

Join Drs. Alison Wellwood and Ben Sabine on March 26, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., to learn more about the longitudinal family medicine (LFM) payment model. They will leverage their knowledge of billing procedures, practice optimization and EMRs to support your journey with the LFM. Register here.

In the latest episode of Chats on Change, Karen Oldfield, Interim President and CEO

Nova Scotia Health, talks with Central Zone’s VP of Operations Eileen MacGibbon, and Medical Executive Director Dr. Christy Bussey about the co-leadership model and the challenges and successes they've experienced over the past year and a half in Nova Scotia Health's most populous management zone.

They discuss driving change within the healthcare system, particularly in inpatient care and surgical access and clearly take pride in their teams' efforts. Our system is under pressure but passion and focus like this from the bedside to the senior leadership level is making a difference for those we care for.

I look forward to speaking to the co-leads of other zones as well for future episodes.

Please listen to our discussion about Central Zone here, or on your preferred streaming service: Chats On Change Episode 15 - Dr. Christy Bussey And Eileen MacGibbon by Nova Scotia Health (soundcloud.com)

Transcript available upon request.

1-833-876-1724

Thanks to those who have called our support line already. Our task team is working to return calls and book meetings with practices at times that are mutually convenient.

If you are a physician looking for support with your practice, or want to provide feedback on any issue, please call the hotline. Our team is standing by to take your call. If we are on another call, we will respond to all voice mail messages within one business day and your file will be directed to the working group for resolution by Medical Affairs and our health system partners.

Wellness resources for physicians have been migrated to an actively monitored page on the Physician Information Portal. You can access it here.

If you have an item to submit, please reply to this newsletter.