Provider Absences and Departures and CII/CPAR
The departure of a provider from the clinic is a busy time for administrators. Access to crucial systems like the EMR and Alberta Netcare must be managed according to the parameters the departing physician has negotiated with the clinic. The status of the provider’s panel in CPAR and when to terminate the panel are additional considerations for administrators at this time.
For more information about Locums, review the Locums article.
Panels in Transition
CPAR offers panel administrators the ability to terminate a panel or to put it into ‘In Transition’ status. In Transition status alerts administrators and users that a panel is undergoing a change and will be terminated at some time in the future. CPAR itself will automatically set a panel to In Transition when the provider’s professional status with their College changes such that they are no longer actively practicing in Alberta (e.g. deceased, retired from practice, moved outside Alberta, etc.).
Panels that are In Transition behave like regular CPAR panels except that they can no longer accept new patients. This can be an important consideration when the family practice is still providing care for those patients, so they can ensure continuity of care during this transition period. CII eNotifications, for example, will continue to flow to the clinic under the original provider while the panel remains In Transition.
While the panel is In Transition, CPAR will also continue to produce conflict reports for those patients. This will help keep the practice informed when any of those patients have chosen a new primary provider at another practice. At least one CPAR Panel Administrator account should be kept active while the panel remains In Transition, in order to view and download CPAR panel reports during this period.
NOTE: When a new provider takes over the care of an existing panel after the original physician’s departure, the existing panel cannot just be switched over to the new provider. The existing panel must be terminated, and the new provider must submit a request for a new panel in CPAR using the CPAR Panel Request Form.
Managing Provider Absences and Departures
Actions taken to manage the panel of an absent or departing primary provider will depend on the specific circumstance but will likely fall into one of the following four scenarios:
Scenario 1
The provider will be absent for a period but is expected to return: During their absence, their panel is covered by a specific individual (probably a locum).
Scenario 2
The provider will be absent for a period but is expected to return: During their absence, their panel is covered by their colleagues at the clinic.
Scenario 3
The provider is not expected to return: The clinic wishes to continue to receive conflict reports and eNotifications for patients on the departed provider’s panel.
Scenario 4
The provider is not expected to return: The clinic does not wish to continue to receive conflict reports and eNotifications for patients on the departed provider’s panel.
Considerations for each of these scenarios are slightly different and the CPAR panel management strategies also differ. A key consideration is whether or not the clinic wishes to continue to send panel data to CPAR on behalf of the absent provider and continue to receive eNotifications for patients on that panel.
Important Note
Simply inactivating their EMR user account does not stop panel data from flowing to CPAR. If the clinic no longer wishes to send panel data for a provider, the provider’s panel number must be cleared from their provider entry.
See more details on the four scenarios and decision trees in the PDF below.