Family Physicians at the Table for the PCMR Evaluation

Dear SGFP Members,

Long before the Primary Care Medical Record (PCMR) was announced, SGFP was advocating strongly on the digital health file. Among our advocacy points: those who do the work must inform the work. That means structured, accountable family physician input, built in from the start, not consultation after decisions are made. When the PCMR was announced this spring, we increased our activity. We have a strong desire for the PCMR to be successful for the profession and for our patients.

Today I'm pleased to share a concrete result. Family physicians were asked to be a part of the recent evaluation of submissions and vendor demonstrations for the PCMR. On very short timelines, we secured a cross-section of your peers from different regions, practice models, career stages, and levels of comfort with digital tools. Our goal was to make sure real clinical workflows and front-line judgment shaped how these systems were assessed. 

To the physicians who cleared their schedules to do this work on behalf of colleagues across the province: thank you. You gave clinical and personal time on short notice, and your perspective mattered.

We also want to recognize a few of our partners. Thank you to the OCFP for working just as hard alongside us, and to the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council for ensuring an Indigenous family physician was on the panel. Thank you as well to our colleagues at Ontario Health, who prioritized family physician participation and worked on aggressive timelines to make it happen.

This is a small stride, but a promising one. It shows that when family physicians are at the table early, the system can make room for us. We'll keep pushing until that is the norm rather than the exception.

Your Constituency Fees Made This Possible

I want to be transparent with you. The OMA does not fund work like this. It is made possible by the voluntary constituency fees that members choose to pay. If you are not already contributing, I urge you to make your $310 annual contribution through MyAccount, or by calling OMA membership toll-free at 1.800.268.7215. Your support is what allows us to keep showing up for you.

Our work is nudging the system in the right direction, and with your help, we'll keep it moving.

Warm Regards,

Dr. Dave Barber, Chair, SGFP

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