Latest News from Facility Engagement: Funding Guidelines Update June 2022
The Ministry of Health and Health Authorities are taking important steps to strengthen governance and accountability in the health system in British Columbia.
This document outlines these strategies and principle upon which PESCCI was founded.
The overarching intent of FE funding is to foster meaningful consultation and collaboration between MSAs and health authorities. To meet this goal, FE expenditures must align with at least one of the following goals of the Memorandum of Understanding on Regional and Local Engagement:
- To improve communication and relationships among the medical staff so that their views are more effectively represented.
- To prioritize issues that significantly affect physicians and patient care.
- To support medical staff contributions to the development and achievement of health authority plans and initiatives that directly affect physicians.
- To have meaningful interactions between the medical staff and health authority leaders, including physicians in formal HA medical leadership roles.
Facility Engagement Funding Guidelines: Summary Table
Clinical equipment
- Purchase of equipment or tools that involves direct or indirect patient care, or patient information/data.
Clinical services
- Compensation for direct or indirect patient care.
- Compensation for scheduling or payment for scheduling tools.
Donations
- Donations to charities or political parties
- Cash donations or purchases of non-cash gifts for members of the public or auxiliary organizations
Purchase of real estate or vehicles
- Not Allowed
Advertising
- Physician recruitment ads
- Internal promotion of MSA activities and meetings
- Paid marketing of the MSA to the general public
Meeting attendance
- MSA internal and external meetings that are not required for maintaining privileges or related to quality assurance activities
- MSA members’ time attending Medical Advisory Committee meetings at all levels
- Quality assurance investigations, activities associated with members’ practice reviews, or standard department/division or facility quality assurance activities (e.g., morbidity and mortality rounds, care reviews)
- Department/division meetings or MSA meetings as required by the medical staff rules
- Quality assurance committees associated or reporting to the Medical Advisory Committee at any level
- Physicians who attend meetings as part of their contract deliverables with the health authority, and health authority operational leaders
- The purchase of non-cash gifts for meeting attendees who are receiving sessional payment
Capital projects
- Capital projects or renovations (e.g., physician lounges) to a one-time total limit (i.e., does not renew each year) of 15% of their annual site funding or $40,000, whichever limit is higher
- Capital projects or renovations where the funding responsibility rests elsewhere, regardless of whether its funding is considered inadequate.
Project infrastructure
- Contracted staff to assist with the operationalization of projects (e.g., evaluation, data collection and analysis, project coordination and tracking).
Note: Consider the sustainability of projects through early engagement of stakeholders before approval.
Other Joint Clinical Committee projects seeking sustainability funding
JCC projects that:
- address facility-based issues
- involve MSA members and health authority
- are appropriate for MSA to fund
Note: Consider cost-sharing opportunities, where applicable.
Physician research and quality projects
Quality improvement projects that encompass improving patient outcomes, improving patient and provider experience, and reducing costs, and involve multiple physician groups and/or collaboration with health authority. Other criteria include:
- Aims to improve internal processes, practices, costs or productivity by assessing an existing practice.
- Flexible design based on ongoing feedback through Plan Do Study Act cycle.
- Done quickly through rapid cycles.
Physician research projects with the following criteria:
- Aims to generate new knowledge that is generalizable to the wider population.
- To test a new practice, theory or intervention.
- Design is tightly controlled in order to limit the effect of confounding variables on the variables of interest.
- Takes a considerable time to complete.
Training
- Accredited and non-accredited non-clinical training (e.g., speakers’ fees, physician sessionals and expenses) provided that multiple physician groups or the majority of the MSA can benefit.
Note: Areas of non-clinical training relevant to MSAs include communication, conflict resolution, and leadership - Alternative funding sources should first be considered for clinical training that is not required for maintaining a license or privileges. If a MSA decides to use FE funding for non-required clinical training, it must involve multiple physicians groups or the majority of the MSA.
- Physician sessionals and expenses for attending required CME accredited clinical training.
- Physician sessionals for attending non-required CME accredited clinical training.
PQI/FE work
- Physician Quality Improvement graduates’ time spent training and guiding their MSA colleagues on MSA endorsed quality projects.
- MSA members’ time in working with the PQI-funded physicians on their projects at various stages (e.g., design, implementation, evaluation).
Events
- FE funds can only be used for events that align with the objectives of the MOU such as those promoting awareness of and participation in FE activities, and fostering relationship building amongst MSA members and with health authority and community partners.
- FE funds cannot be used to pay physician sessional time to attend events where the primary intent is to socialize, or to cover costs related to fitness or social activities (e.g., gym memberships, ski tickets, golfing fees, yoga sessions, movie nights).
- Attendees who do not have a direct role in Facility Engagement (i.e., family members) cannot have their individual expenses covered by FE and/or be remunerated for their participation time.
Wellness activities
- FE funds can be used to support activities that addresses work environment and organizational risks for increasing physician burnout (e.g., reducing administrative burdens on physicians; improving work flows; improving collegiality among and within work groups such as improving teamwork, communication and conflict management).
- Group activities that enhance individual approaches to manage burnout symptoms such as resiliency training can be funded, but sites should consider organizational and work group strategies for reducing risk of burnout as well (e.g., working with health authority partners on reducing paperwork or developing efficient workflows for implementing electronic health records; departmental training on respectful peer-to-peer communication).
- FE funds cannot be used cover costs related to fitness or social activities (e.g., gym memberships, ski tickets, golfing fees, yoga sessions).
Eligible expenses
In accordance to SSC and Doctors of BC expense reimbursement policies, eligible expenses associated with sessional claims are limited to the following:
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch and/or dinner expenses while attending the meeting/event, or spent on travel to and from the meeting/event, are eligible for reimbursement. Meal expenses will be capped at $100 per day. Where a meal is provided free of charge, no claim for that meal can be made.
- Accommodation: A maximum of $220 excluding tax per night is available for accommodation. Between May 1st and September 30th, a maximum of $280 including tax will be available. Accommodation expenses are not eligible for reimbursement where the conference, event or meeting is less than 50km from the claimant’s personal residence.
- Travel and Vehicle Expense: Travel expenses will be reimbursed for the most expeditious route of travel (e.g., economy airfare, taxis, car rentals, parking costs). Private vehicle mileage will be reimbursed (at the rate set in FEMS via Doctors of BC policy) where one -way travel from the claimant’s personal residence or office exceeds 50km.
- Travel Time: Travel time using the most expeditious route may be paid at the sessional rate for time away from the office during business hours only.
- Parking and registration expenses required for attending the meeting/event. All expenses must be accompanied by a receipt. Where receipts are missing, proof of purchase credit card statements will suffice.