Innovative approach to health care benefits the community
March 14, 2011 (Leduc) - March 2011 marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network.
The Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network provides services for patients in the City of Leduc, towns of Beaumont, Devon, Calmar and all communities in Leduc County. A group of 49 family physicians in 11 clinics along with additional health care professionals work together as a multidisciplinary team to improve primary care for over 53,000 patients.
“Over the past five years, we have been excited to play a part in the significant expansion of Primary Care Networks that has taken place across the province of Alberta,” states Len Frank, Executive Director of the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network. “The tremendous progress that we’ve made in our PCN in the last five years was made possible because of the strong leadership and innovation of our member family physicians and healthcare professionals within our PCN.” When asked what this means for people within the network, Frank said, “Our programs have grown from a series of great ideas to a full range of exceptional programs with dedicated, caring staff providing services to improve the health of our community.”
Primary Care Networks (PCNs) were developed in 2003 through collaboration between Alberta Health and Wellness, the Alberta Medical Association and Alberta’s Regional Health Authorities (now Alberta Health Services) as a means to improve access to family physicians and other frontline health care providers in Alberta. The first PCN, Edmonton South, was launched in 2005. Today, there are 39 PCNs across the province with more in development. Seventy nine percent of eligible physicians in Alberta work within a PCN, with a goal of reaching 80 percent of Albertans by the end of 2011.
PCNs use a collaborative team approach to provide care for patients and to coordinate primary health care services provided by a network of family physicians, Alberta Health Services and other health care professionals.
LBD PCN physician Dr. Gurpreet Dinsa has served as President, Board of Directors, for the past four years. “I joined the LBD PCN, since its inception, as it was an exciting opportunity to impact and shape local delivery of health services.” Dinsa says. “Family physicians were given the opportunity to direct programs we felt would benefit local patients and direct resources to target areas of need.”
Each network is unique and has the flexibility to develop programs and provide services that meet the specific needs of its patients. This grassroots approach allows, and encourages, the PCN to focus on the needs of the local patient population. The LBD PCN provides programs and services to its community such as:
• Leduc After-Hours Clinic
• Beaumont After-Hours Clinic
• Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Management Program
• S.M.I.L.E. (Self Manage to Improve your Life Everyday) Healthcare Program
• Community Social Worker
• Leduc Eldercare Consultation Team
• Geriatric Medical Education
• Suburban Rural Sustainability Program
• Referral Coordination Program
• Speciality Clinics
“Being part of the LBD PCN has been a positive change for my practice.” states Dinsa. “We have established programs within our PCN that provide services which were not available in our area before. Physician-led primary care networks have been an undoubted success and will continue in the future. I look forward to my continued participation as primary care networks prepare to take on a broader role in health care delivery.”
Candra Tinis | Communications Coordinator
Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network
#301 4710 - 50th Street
Leduc, AB T9E 6W2
Phone: (780) 986-6624
Fax: (780) 986-6634
http://www.lbdpcn.com