Community Physician Health and Safety Program

For the first time in B.C., community physicians and their staff have an occupational health and safety program developed with and for them! Community physicians face the same workplace health and safety challenges as their colleagues who work in facilities and institutions, but they do not always have access to the same health and safety programs. Now, with the rollout of the Community Physician Health and Safety (CPHS) program, community physicians have the tools and resources to improve the psychological and physical health and safety of their workplace, including bullying and harassment claims, injury prevention, identifying hazards, and more.

Funding for this initiative is provided by the Physician Master Agreement (2022) negotiated by Doctors of BC and the Ministry of Health.

Benefits of the CPHS Program

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Enables clinics to create their own health and safety program using the CPHS web portal

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Allows access to customizable policy and procedure templates

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Provides a free clinic assessment with a health and safety advisor

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Ensures clinics receive ongoing health and safety advice

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Reviews workplace health and safety regulatory and legislative requirements

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Developed by SWITCH BC, Doctors of BC, and the Ministry of Health, and with input from an oversight group and a task group, this new program takes the guesswork out of following regulations and legislation that apply to clinics and brings all of that information together in an easy-to-access web portal, digital reference guide, and free clinic assessments.

Creating a customized health and safety program prevents work-related illnesses and injuries, and helps clinic staff manage health and safety events effectively. It also reduces administrative burdens, adds business protection, and ensures WorkSafeBC regulations are met.

Clinic Assessments

Clinic assessments are confidential and include onsite assessment, education for staff about health and safety best practices, an actionable report with specific health and safety recommendations, and ongoing support as needed. Health and safety advisors are available through an online booking system to schedule a clinic assessment, provide guidance, continued education, or general support. Watch clinic testimonials to hear what community physicians and their staff are saying about their experience with SWITCH BC.

Using Data to Drive Health and Safety Improvements

Clinics assessed

539

Physicians and staff participated

96%

Overall satisfaction with assessments

94%

Likelihood of continuing with corrective actions

Web Portal

The web portal is: A source of truth for community physicians’ health and safety needs provincially, and enables a clinic to create a customized health and safety program through interactive learning and tools. One site for community physicians and their staff to understand regulatory and legislative health and safety requirements, manage risks, and maintain compliance. An interactive site with ready-to-use checklists, policies, learning resources, and progress tracking to create and maintain safer practices on clinics' own timeline. To have a walkthrough of the portal and how to use it, watch our how-to videos.

COMMUNITY PHYSICIAN HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDE

The Community Physician Health and Safety Guide provides a comprehensive foundation for physicians working in community to know the regulations specific to their unique workplaces. The guide facilitates the understanding of workplace requirements and empowers physicians and their staff to navigate key health and safety topics and events effectively.

COLLABORATION COUNTER

All SWITCH BC initiatives are collaborations. Hundreds of hours have been invested by our partners to ensure the Community Physician Health and Safety program is successfully supporting physicians and specialist practices in the community.

1171

People involved in collaboration and engagement

109

Opportunities to collaborate

Surveys completed

Program Progress Milestones

WHAT’S NEXT

We are expanding to offer rural and remote physicians more support, including clinic assessments. As part of SWITCH BC’s current work in updating the violence prevention training for all health workers, we will also customize this content for community physicians and their staff. Also, more job specific resources, such as de-escalation communication tools for medical office staff, will be available on the web portal.