President's Bulletins
June 12, 2023
Dear members and prospective members: The Implicit Re-Referral and Subsequent Consultation go into effect July 1, 2023. In many cases, patients will be able to see their […]
June 8, 2023
Dear members and prospective members: It is finally summer after a long winter! In my first 30 days as President of Consultant Specialists of BC (cSBC), […]
April 18, 2023
Dear members and prospective members: Over the winter, cSBC has continued to be vigorously active advocating for Specialists, our practice environment, the challenges we face, and […]
November 24, 2022
Dear Specialist Colleague: Consultant Specialists of BC has elicited further clarification that was not immediately apparent from the summary document prepared for physicians by Doctors of […]
November 20, 2022
Dear Specialist Colleagues: The tentative 2022 Physician Master Agreement (PMA) was announced on October 31. Voting to determine whether this PMA will be ratified opens November […]
November 8, 2022
Dear Specialist Colleagues: The tentative 2022 Physician Master Agreement (PMA) was announced on October 31. Voting to determine whether this PMA will be ratified opens […]
October 14, 2022
Dear Specialist colleagues: Senior leaders from Consultant Specialists of BC (cSBC) and Doctors of BC met with Deputy Minister of Health Stephen Brown this week. […]
September 20, 2022
Dear members and prospective members: It is a tumultuous time in medicine as COVID continues, the threat of a ‘twindemic’ with flu season looms, and we […]
September 13, 2022
Dear members and prospective members: It is a tumultuous time in medicine as COVID continues, the threat of a ‘twindemic’ with flu season looms, and […]
June 13, 2022
Dear members and prospective members: The last three months have seen unparalleled demands from physicians and the public for government to fix our failing healthcare […]
May 20, 2022
Dear Specialist colleague: In the last few weeks we have seen increasing media focus on the healthcare crisis in BC. Family Doctors have rightfully broadcast […]
November 5, 2021
We have rebranded as the Consultant Specialists of BC and redoubled our efforts around conserving the Specialist space and keeping the term meaningful.
October 21, 2021
Specialists of BC is the unifying organization representing and advocating for all specialists in the province. Despite summer vacation season, your SBC has been working hard […]
October 12, 2021
Dear Colleagues, I would like to begin by thanking Dr. John Falconer for his five years of service as President of the Specialists of BC. […]
April 30, 2021
The Specialists of BC (SBC) was created thirty years ago to be a forum for all Specialists to meet and shareideas, successes and problems. The SBC […]
December 1, 2020
Pandemic year in review An eventful year is drawing to a close, though clearly not without problems carrying on to the New Year. The Specialists of BC […]
October 1, 2020
Your priorities in the pandemic Like so many things since the beginning of the pandemic, this president’s bulletin is going to be a little different. I’ll […]
December 1, 2019
The rise of virtual care The topic of virtual care, also referred to as telemedicine, has emerged in fits and starts over the past decade. Virtual […]
May 1, 2019
The Work of Specialists of BC Continues… Thank you for the opportunity to serve as President of Specialists of BC. I am a pediatric rheumatologist practicing […]
March 1, 2019
Physician Master Agreement drafted As you know, Paul Straszak, the Doctors of BC chief negotiator, has drafted a tentative Physician Master Agreement with the government. He […]
February 1, 2019
Specialist’s Symposium a Success The first ever Specialists’ Symposium was held on January 18 and 19, 2019, presented jointly by Specialists of BC and the Specialist […]
June 15, 2018
What is extra billing? The government of BC has decided to enforce legislation that bans extra billing. What does that edict mean? The federal and provincial […]
April 15, 2018
Who will be leading the Doctors of BC next year? There is an election being held NOW for this year’s President-Elect of the Doctors of BC. […]
October 15, 2017
What will the new Representative Assembly talk about? The Doctors of BC new governance structure has come into effect. On September 15, 2017, the Doctors of […]
July 15, 2017
Representation in the new Representative Assembly As you know, the Doctors of BC will have a new governance structure September 14, 2017. This new structure will […]
May 15, 2017
SSC Fee Codes – fixed budgets and constructive fee codes The Specialist Services Committee (SSC) is allocated a fixed budget, some of which was used to […]
March 2, 2017
New Overhead Study – “On your mark, get ready, go!” The new Overhead Study is about to start. Doctors from all sections will be randomly […]
December 1, 2016
Governance referendum There have been multiple Doctors of BC governance referenda in the last 15 to 20 years. Some feel the current 40-odd member Board is […]
September 1, 2016
ANDI, MANDI, CANDI – what does it all mean? In order to fairly compare incomes of doctors in different specialties, several formulas have been developed around […]
July 7, 2016
Patient Access and Measurement – a DIY approach The Specialists of BC has often been focused on fee code issues and disparities. This year I would […]
May 6, 2016
Doctors of BC proposal could separate governance from representation The Doctors of BC is discussing the notion of a smaller, leaner board. The current board has […]
February 22, 2016
Another overhead study When we get a raise, compare income disparities, or perhaps even choose a specialty, what each of us pays in overhead is vitally […]
October 27, 2015
Specialists of BC meet with Ministry of Health to talk strategy For the first time, Executive members of the Specialists of BC met with the deputy […]
June 17, 2015
A new name for a new focus I am your new President, Dr John Falconer, a clinical neurologist from Kelowna specializing in stroke. I have served […]