Participate in the OMA Membership Value survey. Last call to share your input. Help inform OMA programming, enhance services and improve how the association serves Ontario’s doctors professionally and personally. The survey will take five to 10 minutes to complete and answers are confidential. An email from Ipsos, a third-party research firm, has been sent to you with a unique link. If it is not in your inbox, please check your spam folder. The survey will be open until Monday, June 13.
Questions? Contact Kathryn Kinsey at OMA.
As private entities, medical practices may choose to implement a mandatory masking policy for staff once mandates are lifted on Saturday, June 11. Public Health Ontario continues to recommend masking of ambulatory patients, and therefore patients should be encouraged to wear masks. In situations where patients refuse to wear a mask, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario expects physicians to provide the standard of care. Learn more about masking policies.
Read updated Paxlovid resources.The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table has updated two of its resources that support prescribing Paxlovid for patients at high risk of developing serious disease. The Direct Oral Anticoagulant (DOAC) pathway now clarifies how to adjust medications if Paxlovid is started at night. The Prescriber Guide has been updated to reflect dosing guidance from the Ontario Renal Network for patients with an eGFR <30 mL/min. It also reflects updated recommendations regarding the management of certain medications, including specific statins (i.e., simvastatin, lovastatin) and dabigatran, along with practical suggestions for adjusting calcium channel blockers and alpha blockers and clarifies therapeutic drug monitoring recommendations for transplant drugs. Download Paxlovid for a Patient on a DOAC. Access Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (Paxlovid): What Prescribers and Pharmacists Need to Know.
Updated COVID-19 literature summaries.The OMA collection of COVID-19 literature summaries from peer-reviewed journals has been updated since it was last shared in April. The final issue in the series will be released in early summer. Access the literature summaries.
Recruitment for the many working groups established under the Physician Services Agreement is underway. There are four working groups currently seeking members:
Diagnostic Risk-adjusted Acuity Modifier Advisory Working Group
Hospitalist Medicine Alternate Payment Plan Working Group
Hospital On-Call Working Group
Rural and Northern Physician Group Agreement Working Group
The respective working group roles, eligibility requirements, and application forms are posted on the OMA committees web page. The deadline to apply to all working groups is Monday, June 20. Learn more about PSA working groups and how to apply.
The Member Services Committee, OMA Women Committee and Relativity Advisory Committee are adding new members as part of their spring recruitment. Bring your innovative ideas forward and shape the future of the association. Details about the evaluation process, desired skills and experience, time commitments and remuneration, can be found in the committee recruitment details noted below. Application deadline is Friday, June 17. Find out more about the OMA committee positions. Complete your OMA committee application.
OMA thanks members’ election advocacy efforts. Thank you to OMA members who were involved in this past provincial election. Your engagement with local candidates, attendance at debates and engagement on social media all helped build public and political support for OMA’s Prescription for Ontario: Doctors’ 5-Point Plan for Better Health Care. Consider becoming a health-care advocate.
Pain management website celebrates one year. To celebrate the first anniversary of establishing SolvingPain.ca, the digital pain management and harm prevention tool developed by Ontario’s Anesthesiologists has expanded to include several urological surgeries. The website’s 50+ sets of perioperative pain management best practices are also being updated to the latest best evidence. Visit SolvingPain.ca. Review all surgeries available on SolvingPain.ca.
Monkeypox outbreak rapid evidence review. Public Health Ontario has released an evidence synthesis on the 2022 monkeypox outbreak. The document reviews the epidemiology of the outbreak, describes the clinical presentation of cases (including disease severity), reviews transmission and diagnosis, summarizes selected global recommendations for case and contact management and summarizes evidence for post-exposure prophylaxis. Public Health Ontario will continue to monitor the evidence to inform the province’s response to the monkeypox outbreak. Review the evidence synthesis on the monkeypox outbreak.
OMD launches Luminary Awards. Are you a digital health champion or know a clinician or clinic staff member who has demonstrated leadership to successfully implement certified EMRs and digital/virtual health tools? Tell your digital health story and nominate a colleague, staff or yourself for an OMD Luminary Award beginning Monday, June 13. Learn more about the OMD Luminary Awards. Nominate someone for the 2022 awards.
Events
Know the steps to closing your practice. Join the OMA for an upcoming webinar titled, Closing an Office-Based Practice. This three-part series will discuss your legal, business and professional obligations, and help you understand your responsibilities to patients. Whether you plan to retire, relocate, reduce your patient load, or re-launch your career in another capacity, this program is for you. Sign up for the webinar series on closing your practice.
Webinar explores the mysteries of fatherhood. District 11 Doctor’s Lounge invites members to explore the mysteries of fatherhood and its lasting influence on families’ mental health. Join child psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Howlett of Toronto’s Fathers’ Mental Health Program to examine fatherhood from a new perspective. This virtual event titled, The Marvel of the Human Dad will be held on Wednesday, June 15 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Register for the District 11 Doctor’s Lounge event.
Register for webinar on the climate crisis. Last chance to sign up for the OMA Green is Health Medical Interest Group webinar to hear from Seth Klein. The author of A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency, Klein will share his views on how we can align our politics and economy with what the science says we must do to address the climate crisis. The webinar will be held Thursday, June 16 at 8 p.m. Sign up for the climate crisis webinar.
Achieving financial independence in medicine. The OMA Women Committee will be conducting a lecture and panel discussion on financial topics specific to women on Saturday, June 18 from 2-4 p.m. Women in medicine face unique financial challenges in building their net worth: maternity leave, finding locums and fertility/family planning/childcare costs. Join Dr. Stephanie Zhou and a panel of multigenerational women to hear from their experience in navigating financial conversations with their partners (prenups, divorce, wedding costs, etc.), funding maternity leave and childcare. Register for the discussion on women’s financial independence.
Learn the benefits of online appointment booking. Ontario Health will be hosting a webinar featuring a panel of primary care providers who will share their lived experiences about the benefits of using online appointment booking in primary care practices. Join panelists Dr. Marco Lo, Dr. Kevin Lai and Dr. James Lane on Tuesday, June 21 from 5-6 p.m. This event will include a Q-and-A. Register for the webinar on online appointment booking.
OMA in the News
Addressing LGBTQ health-care disparities. The OMA hosted its 29th Ask Ontario’s Doctors
media briefing on Wednesday where a panel of physicians spoke about health-care issues in the LGBTQ community, many of which were magnified during the pandemic. OMA President Dr. Rose Zacharias was joined by Dr. Ed Kucharski, a family doctor and chief medical officer of Casey House; Dr. Tim Guimond, a psychiatrist at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto and mental health director of the new HQ clinic for gay men and trans people; Jack Woodman, vice president for strategy, quality, risk and privacy at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto; and Dr. Amy Bourns, program director for the Enhanced Skills Residency Program in 2SLGBTQ Health at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. View recording of media briefing on LGBTQ disparities. Access the OMA’s top media coverage.
In episode 13 of the Financial Checkup – part one of getting your retirement plan on track – Advantages Retirement Plan™ specialists Yash Khubchandani and Guillermo Nafarrate address common retirement planning challenges to help physicians and their spouse/common-law partner meet their retirement goals. Listen to the podcast on retirement planning.
Save on home and auto insurance.OMA Insurance offers a range of savings and exclusive discounts to help you save on your home and auto insurance. See how much you can save today. Get an online quote for home and auto insurance.
Better manage uninsured services. PatientSERV provides OMA members exclusive access to an easy-to-use management solution for uninsured services. This simple solution provides comprehensive support, secure payment services and more, so members can stay focused on providing quality patient care. Manage your uninsured services with PatientSERV.
. Mercedes Benz discounts expire in July. Take advantage of savings and current retail incentives on the lease, finance or purchase of a new 2021/2022 Mercedes-Benz vehicle. Offers expire on Sunday, July 31. Save on a new Mercedes Benz vehicle.
Please note that this survey response will not be anonymous. It will be linked to your member account with OMA, and the data will be used for quality assurance purposes by the OMA team. You are not required to participate. Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statement:
