Doctors traditionally have always ranked either number one or near the top of public opinion surveys asking which profession is most highly regarded and respected.
They don’t, however, always get full marks for their communications skills – pharmacists deserve kudos for deciphering what passes as handwriting on prescription pads, for example.
So it came as no big surprise when one of Cochrane’s best known and well liked physicians recently told The Eagle some Cochrane doctors aren’t communicating amongst themselves quite as efficiently as they could.
In what is allegedly the fastest growing town in Alberta – and surprisingly perhaps – there are actually family doctors taking new patients. That certainly would come as a surprise to any relatively new residents who haven’t had much luck hooking up with a family doctor.
The only problem, according to the Cochrane & Area Health Foundation (CAHF), is getting the word out to people looking to find one.
Vice-chair of the CAHF Dennis Fundytus said he recently became aware there were a number of clinics in Cochrane with family doctors taking new patients but the doctors weren’t always communicating amongst themselves very well.
So the need was identified and now the CAHF is brainstorming ways to share information better. They started to ask questions.
“How do we connect family physicians in Cochrane with available capacity to potential patients needing a family physician?” asked Fundytus.
Turns out there is – or may soon be – an app for that. There may be one developed if all goes according to plan.
The Foundation is exploring the possibility of an app that would provide information in real time to residents in the area about which family physicians have capacity.
And while there is no guarantee an app will become a reality, the CAHF is exploring the feasibility of the idea. As with many things in health care, often “feasibility” becomes a synonym for “cost.”
“We are reaching out to our family physicians to confirm capacity," he said. "We are reaching out to the techies in our community to assist in developing this concept."
Although Alberta Health Services has a place on their website dedicated to helping people find a family doctor near them, the information there is often outdated.
“We believe there is room to improve on the ‘Find a Doctor’ concept to better serve the needs of our citizens of Cochrane,” he said. “Stay tuned as we move forward.”
For more information on this and other projects the Foundation is involved in go to cochranehealthfoundation.ca.
