To the supporters of the newly formed Health Data Coalition

The Board of the PDC, the AMCARE Steering Committee and new Board of the HDC want to acknowledge the unwavering commitment of Divisions who have supported the PDC throughout the years and to also welcome others that have come on board later.

As you may know, HDC – which brings together the technical assets and knowledge of PDC (Physician Data Collaborative) and AMCARE (Aggregated Metrics for Clinical Analysis Research and Evaluation) – has received funding to continue our work for the next 12 – 18 months through General Practice Services Committee. This has taken the pressure off PDC to ask divisions to contribute a percentage of their infrastructure funding.

The challenge all along has been in supporting a concept, a good idea based on the work of AMCARE in the North. Many of you were willing to put your faith and funds into this “vision of the right thing to do” and understood that this “visionary work” would likely not show benefit to the individual physician for a long period of time.

As it stands, it took longer than any of us expected. As an existing PDC or AMCARE supporter, you have led the way in laying the groundwork for the new HDC solution, making it easier to get data flowing from EMRs to the new HDC platform.

You have helped to ensure our mission remains relevant to your work, and helped knit together the various programs offered to Divisions and physicians through the work of the joint clinical committees.

With your support, we have achieved the merger of AMCARE and PDC platforms. We now have the software to support three EMRs: MOIS, Osler and Oscar.

With vendor engagement and commitments from the Doctors of BC and Ministry of Health, we are anticipating that a fourth, IntraHealth/Profile, will also be connected sometime soon. Discussions are moving ahead positively with Telus (Med Access and Wolf) and the other EMR vendors as well.

We have created an independent, not-for-profit organization governed by physicians to work for physicians and their health care partners in BC. The HDC is built on the principles and goals developed by AMCARE and PDC.

Thank you for your belief that this important work can be done by physicians. Without this abiding faith in us none of what we currently have would have been possible. We look forward to building stronger relationships with physicians and Divisions, and especially in understanding your needs to further develop our services and software tools.

Acknowledging the following Divisions for their support through the years

  • Vancouver Division 1
  • Chilliwack
  • Comox Valley
  • Cowichan Valley
  • Fraser Northwest
  • Kootenay Boundary
  • Langley
  • North Shore
  • Powell River
  • Prince George
  • Surrey – North Delta
  • Thompson Region
  • Langley
  • Mission
  • North Peace
  • Richmond
  • Ridge Meadows
  • Shuswap North Okanagan
  • South Island
  • South Okanagan Similkameen
  • Burnaby
  • Central Okanagan
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Abbotsford
  • Delta
  • White Rock – South Surrey

Whom can I contact to get onto the new HDC web platform?

Contact HDC Physician Engagement Lead, Cathy McGuinness at cathy.mcguinness@hdcbc.ca or call her at 604-307-7620. Cathy can answer questions, walk you through the process and register those interested in participating in this exciting initiative.

How can stay up to date on HDC activities?

We value your perspectives as an important HDC partner. We encourage you to follow us through social media and sign up for our newsletter on our website.

Sincerely,
Bruce Hobson, MD, on behalf of PDC and HDC Board of Directors