Chair's Report - Summer 2022

Dear Colleagues,

With summer upon us, I am excited to share the progress we have made in the last few months, what is top of mind heading into the summer and some of what we expect to deliver through the fall of 2022. To keep us targeted in our efforts and representation, this report will once again be divided into four key strategic areas of focus: Governance, Member Services, Patient Care and Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement.

Governance, Tariff and Compensation

Sound governance is the foundation on which we can effectively represent you. We appreciate that one of our primary roles is to represent your financial interests in the matters of Tariff and Compensation. Earlier this year the Medical Services Payment Committee (MSPC) asked all sections and groups to submit proposals for changes to the Schedule of Benefits to simplify or delete obsolete codes, make intra-sectional relativity adjustments, and fee increases which would be considered depending on the amount of money allocated by the Physician Services Agreement.

Our submission included revenue neutral proposals to address common billing issues such as difficulty in payment for obstetrical care and a code to create a foundation for Acute Pain Services and Anesthesia Care Teams. The OMA has supported these proposals in principle and will discuss them with the Ministry of Health through a newly constituted bilateral committee, the Physician Payment Committee (PPC). We also carefully reviewed all submissions by other groups and provided strong feedback to the OMA-MSPC where payments for the services for anesthesia care would be negatively impacted. We expect continued engagement with the PPC over the summer in these areas.

I would like to thank Dr. Julian deBacker, the outgoing resident representative on the executive, and welcome Dr. Nicholas Timmerman who joins Dr. Isabel Theberge as his replacement. Our residents in training are our future and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with them. I would also like to welcome Dr. Druvtej Ambati, who replaces Dr. Paul Gill as the FP-A Member at Large. I would like to thank Dr. Gill for his dedicated and passionate service over the past 5+ years. He has not only represented the FP-A perspective but has been a valuable contributor to all matters related to our section.

Member Services

Ontario’s Anesthesiologists is the home base for anesthesiologists across Ontario. We will continue to highlight and provide opportunities for growth in education, research, advocacy, and advancement to elevate our specialty and to ensure our members are set up for success.

Planning for the Annual Ontario Anesthesia Meeting and Conference, to be held September 16 to 18, 2022 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, is well underway. To help promote a high standard of anesthesia care in Ontario, the meeting will include current and clinically relevant topics, as well as several interactive workshops. In addition, there will be a Leadership and Professional Development Day on September 15, 2022. Past leadership offerings have been very well attended and highly successful, so we encourage you to register early to get one of the limited spots. The complete conference program and registration will be available soon.

We recently helped Cancer Care Ontario promote a webinar on Blood and Albumin Transfusion Rates at the Time of Cancer Surgery across Ontario. Through the fall we are planning more presentations on clinical topics as well as content to promote your financial success, an introduction to social media, media relations, and stakeholder advocacy. Through our Leadership Development Working Group, we are in the early stages of planning small group video coffee chats with health system leaders and influencers to create partnerships and to share our perspectives.

Patient Care

Each day we all intend to provide the best anesthesia care for our patients. To help take us Beyond the Mask, the section is active in other ways to help drive better patient care.

Our Environmental Sustainability Working Group has rapidly grown to over 15 volunteers and is creating an online resource guide for departments and hospitals to incorporate environmentally sustainable perioperative practices within their hospitals. You can visit our website to learn how you can also make a difference. I am pleased to report that members of the Working Group have also met with Federal and Provincial Ministers to promote the inclusion of anesthetic gases in the greenhouse gas inventory. Doing so will require hospitals to track use of inhaled anesthetics and drive sustainable practices.

Health care workforce shortages are negatively impacting patient care delivery. For anesthesiologists this is of particular interest as there is a movement to permit Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists to provide anesthesia care in British Columbia. Across the country, each Provincial government will be looking to explore their own solutions to a growing surgical backlog and possible anesthesia shortage, both of which have multiple contributing factors. We do not see the cRNA model as a safe or economical option within our Canadian system. Our section recognizes the need to take a proactive approach in addressing this threat to our autonomy and to the safety of our patients. Thus, we have formed an Anesthesia Health Human Resources Working Group consisting of a mixture of academic and community anesthesiologists. The intent is to stay connected, combine our efforts and share resources to counter this movement. This group will explore solutions to ensure a safe and more robust anesthesia coverage across the province. One of the key short-term goals of this group, working closely with the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society, will be to create a position statement defining anesthesiology as a medical role and promoting the anesthesia care team model with a physician-led supervisory role.

The SolvingPain website continues to be a valuable resource for anesthesiologists, our other physician colleagues and health-care workers. If you have not had a chance to visit the website, I encourage you to, and to promote its use. It provides evidence-based pain management guidance for pre operative, intraoperative and postoperative care including safe prescribing practices to limit excess opioids in the community.

Advocacy and Stakeholder Management

This spring, we launched the Ontario Anesthesiologists’ Instagram account. Social media is incredibly important in showcasing and promoting the work you do. I encourage you to also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to stay informed, and to share our posts to amplify our presence.

We have had some early success in engaging stakeholders, including government, through work being done by the Environmental Sustainability and Anesthesia Health Human Resource Working Groups. As our work progresses, we will continue to engage and strengthen those and other ties. To have a voice and to be able to positively influence, we need to be seen, heard and understood. As mentioned, through the fall we are planning opportunities to equip our members with skills and tools to become more influential at all levels of the health-care system.

Our mission continues to be to advocate for and represent the best interests of anesthesiologists, and to strengthen our leadership role within the health-care system. Our vision is for anesthesiologists to be leading partners, delivering the highest standards of innovative, safe, and sustainable patient care.

I will end by reinforcing my commitment to representing you by elevating our voice and promoting our interests. I remain positive and hopeful that by working together and supporting each other, we can accomplish a lot. Please reach out any time with your thoughts and ideas. We value your feedback and suggestions.

Sincerely,
Dr. Rohit Kumar
Chair, Ontario's Anesthesiologists
A Section of the Ontario Medical Association