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This week’s Vitals is 1,400 words or a 5 min read. If you only have 1 minute, here are the highlights:
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Sick of Sick Notes: As part of our efforts to eliminate sick notes and reduce your administrative burden, we’ve released new guidance for employers and a light-hearted social media ad to engage the public. This week Minister Asagwara responded that the government is open to banning sick notes, and will undertake consultations about it. Share our resources to raise awareness!
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How Racism Affects Wait Times and Care in ERs: A new report, led by Dr. Marcia Anderson, details how racism and discrimination affect emergency room wait times, triage scores, and other factors like whether a patient will leave without being seen or leave against medical advice. The analysis is essential to improving equity in access and outcomes for all patients.
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Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health: A new report outlines key recommendations and system-wide actions to strengthen preventive health guidance in Canada. At Doctors Manitoba, we incorporate these guidelines along with local physician expertise into our Getting Healthy Guide.
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Prepare for Changes to Codeine Product Classification: Starting this fall, all M3P prescriptions, including Tylenol #3, must be recorded under the new Standard. The CPSM advises this can be done by using the free-type field in your EMR.
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Indigenous Peoples Day: National Indigenous Peoples Day is this Saturday, June 21, the same day as the summer solstice — the longest day of the year! We have a list of events around the province to help you celebrate First Nations, Inuit and Métis culture in a meaningful way.
🐞 Plus, time is running out to register for our FREE event at the Assiniboine Zoo on Thursday, July 10. It’s exclusive to Doctors Manitoba members and your families. Grab your spot today!
Please note, for the summer we will be sending out Vitals every other week and on an as needed basis to minimize your email traffic while keeping you informed on important updates!
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Sick of Sick Notes
Our public advocacy efforts on administrative burden reached a major milestone this week with the launch of a new campaign, Sick of Sick Notes. It has three key parts:
🖊️ New guidance for employers
📝 Definitive recommendations to government
📺 A new social media ad that’s really worth a watch!
We’re in the news: Our campaign has been featured by CBC, Global, the Free Press and many other outlets across the province.
Government response: We have been in touch with the province every step of the way, encouraging them to act, and we are hopeful for substantial and meaningful steps from them in the near future.
Your participation is vital: Physician feedback has prioritized and guided our work, and that is much appreciated. Let's keep the momentum going! Please share these articles and our social media posts to generate as much interest as we can.
In addition to internal resources from Doctors Manitoba, this initiative is supported by the Health Care Unburdened Grant. This grant program is part of the Canadian Medical Association, MD Financial Management Inc. and Scotiabank’s long-standing, joint commitment to supporting physicians and the communities they serve across Canada.
Learn more!
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How Racism Impacts Our Health System
As part of a new province-wide quality improvement initiative, a new report helps shed light on the specific ways systemic racism and discrimination affect our province's patients, providers, and health care system overall.
The study of more than 600,000 emergency room visits in Manitoba between May 2023 and September 2024, led by Dr. Marcia Anderson, zeroed in on the ways racism and discrimination affect emergency room wait times, triage scores and other factors like whether or not a patient will leave without being seen or leave against medical advice.
Read our full coverage here.
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Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health
Several months ago, following public controversy about breast cancer screening recommendations, the federal government ordered an External Expert Review to examine the governance, mandate, and scientific processes of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health.
Why it Matters: The national Task Force provides evidence-based guidelines for screening and preventive care that are used by primary care providers to provide advice to patients, as well as set provincial policy and funding.
The final report, Modernizing Preventive Health Care Guideline Development in Canada: A Way Forward, was released this week and outlines key recommendations and system-wide actions to strengthen preventive health guidance in Canada. Ultimately, it validates the need for the Task Force, with advice to bolster the credibility of its work by ensuring “guidelines remain both scientifically rigorous and practically relevant.”
Our Take: At Doctors Manitoba, we incorporate these guidelines along with local physician expertise into our Getting Healthy Guide, an online tool that provides Manitobans with personalized advice based on their age and gender about screening, immunization, and health risks to watch for.
See this recent story about our work planned for this summer and get in touch if you’d like to help out by emailing gettinghealthy@doctorsmanitoba.ca.
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Indigenous Peoples Day
National Indigenous Peoples Day on Saturday, June 21, is the same day as the summer solstice—the longest day of the year. You’ll need the extra daylight (and a whole weekend!) to take in the many celebrations of First Nations, Inuit and Métis culture.
As you review the many ways to mark Indigenous Peoples Day, also take a few moments to learn more about some of the outstanding Indigenous physicians who have received Doctors Manitoba Awards in recent years. Watch these videos: Dr. Sara Goulet, Dr. Courtney Leary, and Dr. Marcia Anderson.
Check out our full list of events here.
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Canadian Disability Benefit
Starting Friday, June 20, eligible Canadians will be able to apply for the new Canada Disability Benefit, which provides financial support to low- and modest-income working-age (18-64) individuals with disabilities. This benefit complements the already existing Disability Tax Credit.
🩺 What this means for you: For now, it will mean added paperwork for some physicians. We’ve joined with the CMA to push hard to simply the form and reduce the number of clearly ineligible applications that cross physicians’ desks, but we haven’t seen the federal government change the form just yet, partly due to the change in Prime Minister and election earlier this year.
📣 Our advocacy work: We have pressed for shorter forms, the ability for other health care professionals to certify eligibility, and for remuneration for time and completion of these types of forms.
📝 Simplified renewals: We’ve also pressed the CRA for abbreviated renewal forms, and Manitoba will serve as a pilot for testing this later this year.
We want to hear from you! As patients start coming to you for certification, please let us know how it’s going. This information helps inform our continued advocacy work. Email us at practiceadvice@doctorsmanitoba.ca.
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Prepare for Changes to Codeine Product Classification
Starting this fall, several codeine-containing products, including Tylenol #3, Tylenol #2, and Cotridin will be added to the M3P drug list. Find out why The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) is making the changes, what it means for your practice and resources available to help.
Read our full coverage here to help you prepare.
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Help Finetune Summer ER Forecast
As we mentioned earlier this month, we are asking for your help to improve the accuracy of our summer forecasts for each ER and Urgent Care Centre. Summer is a challenging time when it comes to maintaining ER coverage and service in Manitoba, in both rural communities and in Winnipeg.
Your feedback will help with our public awareness messaging about ER services, as well as our advocacy to work with health system leaders to improve coverage in a safe and stable manner.
If you work in an ER or urgent care centre, please take this 3‑minute survey to help us understand the situation in the hospital(s) you work in.
→ Take Short Survey Here
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Wildfires & Measles
We continue to monitor the impact of Manitoba’s record wildfire season and measles outbreak on our health care system.
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Wildfires: Thanks to recent rain activity, provincial fire and travel restrictions are being updated for many areas across Manitoba, the province announced Wednesday. Check out the latest on our Doctors Manitoba Wildfires page which is updated regularly with information curated for physicians.
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Measles: Manitoba now has more than 100 confirmed measles cases, with this week’s tally at 105. We’re keeping track of the province’s updates and resources for you and your patients on the Doctors Manitoba Measles page.
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Zoo Lineup Announced!
Have you registered for this family-friendly event? You have until July 1! Join us Thursday, July 10, from 6:00–9:00 p.m. for a family-fun adventure at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg. The Zoo will be closed to the public as you and your families enjoy this exclusive Doctors Manitoba event. Here’s a look at just a few activities available to you:
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Survival of the Slowest: Meet a two-toed sloth, bearded dragon, four-toed hedgehog, and other incredible species while learning about their unique survival strategies. Can slow and steady win the race? Does bigger always mean better? Find out! Open from 7:00–9:00 p.m.
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Zoo Chats: You will get an exclusive opportunity to learn more about Manitoba’s polar bears with two special talks by animal care staff. There will be two half-hour chats offered during the event starting around 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 pm.
We’ll have great food, games and prizes, plus a few special surprises just for you!
Don’t miss out! Register by July 1.
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Bombers Tickets!
Dr. Julius Anang and Dr. Ignatius Anyadik had a great time at the Bombers home opener last week!
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Don’t forget, as a Doctors Manitoba member you can get a discount on select regular season games! Doctors Manitoba and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have partnered for the 2025 season, and this includes an exclusive discount for Doctors Manitoba Members of about 20-25% for select games:
- Friday, July 18 vs. Calgary Stampeders
- Friday, August 14 vs Ottawa Redblacks
To redeem the offer, go to bluebombers.com/DOCTORS and use the offer code DOCTORS.
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Early Bird Gets the Worm… and the Best Deal!
Don’t miss out on early bird pricing for the 3rd Annual Getting Healthy Golf Tournament. Discounted rates end June 27th, register today.
Want your clinic to be part of the action?
Register your staff in a team of four, or sponsor a hole and reach more than 100 Manitoban physicians. Contact us for sponsorship opportunities by emailing general@doctorsmanitoba.ca.
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Here are the most-read and important recent stories, in case you missed them:
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Meet our new Getting Healthy Outreach Team and find out how you can get them involved in your event!
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It’s time for an Insurance Check-up! Make time to evaluate your coverage with the help of Doctors Manitoba.
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Canada Health Infoway’s AI Scribe Program is Live! Eligible primary care clinicians can apply for a funded one-year license for an AI Scribe solution from the list of pre-qualified vendors within their region, with the confidence that the tool will meet the unique needs of their practice and align with their jurisdiction’s health system. Check out our AI Scribe resource page and a recap of our webinar.
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If you participate in Family Medicine Plus, consider taking part in this cross-Canada study about new longitudinal family medicine payment models.
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Help Promote the OurCare Survey: Manitoba has the lowest number of family physicians per capita. OurCare, in partnership with the CMA, is calling on all Canadians, especially in Manitoba, to participate in a new survey that aims to gather feedback on patient experiences with primary care. Patients can visit ourcare.ca/survey to take the survey.
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We feature events planned by Doctors Manitoba, as well as other events submitted by the medical community to share and connect with their peers.
29th Annual Bug Day
⏰ October 23, at 7:55 a.m. to 4 p.m.
📌 Online
🐛 Nationally and internationally recognized experts will present timely topics in infectious diseases and public health at Manitoba’s largest healthcare education event.
Learn more and register here.
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Physician Opportunities in Manitoba, June 22, 12 - 1 p.m. Virtual. Do you have physician colleagues in the USA, UK, Ireland or Australia who are interested in learning more about moving to Manitoba to practice here? This webinar is for them! Register here.
Provincial Health Leadership Program Register by June 30. Participants can design a capstone project relevant to their chosen area of leadership or influence; learn and engage with senior leaders in Manitoba; develop an understanding of the health-care system and academic environment; and hone their critical, creative and lateral thinking skills. Learn more and register here.
Who’s Who in the Zoo, July 10, 6 - 9 p.m. at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg. Bring your family to a once-in-a-lifetime zoo experience exclusive to Doctors Manitoba members! We’ll have games, prizes, food and a whole lot of fun. Proudly presented by MD Financial Management and Scotiabank. Register here.
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We are here to support the whole physician.
Every step of the way.
Your health & well-being are important to us.
Visit DRMB.ca/HELP to connect to support services or call 1.844.433.3762
For all other support, including benefits and insurance support,
career resources or practice advice please
email general@doctorsmanitoba.ca or call 204.985.5888
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Visit DRMB.ca/Bannatyne for more information on our Bannatyne office and to view the full calendar.
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