CANADIAN SOCIETY OF PALLIATIVE CARE PHYSICIANS
Monday, Feb 9, 2015 via GoTo Meeting
9 am PST/10 am MST/ 11 am CST/ 12 pm EST/ 1 pm AST/ 1:30 pm NL
PRESENT: Dr. Susan MacDonald (President), Dr. Leonie Herx, Dr. Jessica Simon, Dr. Monica Branigan, Dr. David Henderson, Dr. Doris Barwich, Dr. Ted St. Godard, Kim Taylor, Michelle Veer (Recorder).
REGRETS: Dr. Bernard Lapointe, Dr. Paul Daeninck, Dr. Jeff Myers.
1. Call to Order at 0905 h. Discussion ensured regarding responding with process to agree upon survey with one voice for discussion about post-carter ruling and process moving forward.
2. Minutes of Board Meeting via teleconference on December 15, 2014 and January 19, 2015 (Attachment).
APPROVED: January minutes approved. December minutes approved with addition of Jessica Simon as regrets.
3. Education
· Conference update – Leonie
o Everything is going well. Reminders about early bird deadline & abstract deadline will go out.
· Partner meeting – Undergraduate Education – Kim – DEFER to March.
4. Advocacy & Partnerships
· Results & Implications of Euthanasia Survey
· 3-hour session at the conference – Need a decision by the end of February.
o To be used for topical issues. Allow 60 – 75 minutes for HR survey results to membership with panel discussion including our partners.
o Potential subjects for remaining time: Medical Marijuana, Methadone course, Supreme Court ruling.
o AGREED: The Carter case is key and national. Use the remaining 1 hour 45 minutes for this topic.
o Goal is not have the session be a divisive, argumentative time – but to come out with plan of action.
§ State that 75% of members filling out survey & what the results were – but society & courts have decided.
§ Talk about how to deal with requests, encouraging other programs to meet with their staff (doesn’t affect just physicians) and how everyone is going to deal with this.
§ Suggested Medical/Legal/Ethics be a part of this discussion to answer questions, due to misunderstanding of what the verdict actually means.
§ Suggested discussion to outline various responses individual clinicians can make.
§ Guidance on how members can support their groups to come to terms with this and be prepared.
§ Monica sent helpful article from Washington hospices re: study, legal PAS. How one might consider engaging with this? Different levels, opposition and actually providing service and deciding where does each program lie. Responding to new legislation. Accommodate diversity of views.
o Suggested Guest Speaker from Oregon to speak (0.5 hr) about how to navigate bringing this into reality. Opportunity to learn from someone who has already been through this – though downside it that it’s just one view.
o Learn from Ob/Gyn experience with abortion? - No, best to focus on PAS
o Gather useful materials from the literature.
o Monica’s suggestion:
§ Ethical decisions – may not agree with outcome but able to support decision if the process is fair, equitable and transparent.
§ Discussion – do we need to survey members again in light of the ruling? DECISION: No. Instead, have Board create a statement that represents the breadth of what members think and what they said in comments to January survey.
o Monica would like to be around table to put focus on responding to needs of many rather than needs of few. Practices that hasten death vs. processes that do not.
o What is more appropriate nationally? What is more appropriate provincially?
o Education is a gap. Some members’ responses on survey suggest they aren’t clear on the distinction between euthanasia and PAS.
o Ensuring that our trainees and our colleagues have a way of responding as people aren’t as informed (supports available, etc.). Patients have choices.
o Education piece extends to Health Authorities and administrators, etc. –not just physicians.
o Can we leverage the public interest in death/dying to explain the complexity and to advocate for what they really need?
o AGREED: We need a unifying message that put focus on what we can do, promote, and support rather than what side you fall on. Understanding full scope of palliative care; need for access, education, ACP etc.
o Education – lost opportunity to have conversation about where we see palliative medicine going. Focus on living well and whole person. How to deal with requests? Not about policy & procedures of how you do this.
o ACTIONS/PLAN
§ Create a statement in light of the ruling, including educating physicians re conversations re requests for hastened death, advocacy for palliative care, protecting physicians. Speak explicitly about it not being part of palliative care. SUSAN to draft.
§ BOARD MEMBERS – send articles/materials to rest of Board. Need to set up a repository quickly. Tell KIM & MICHELLE which materials to post in Members Area.
§ Move forward with setting up a Public Policy Advisory Committee to gather materials and develop options for the Board. EVERYONE – review Monica’s proposal before next Board meeting. MONICA – suggest how to move it forward (# of committee members, criteria for members etc).
§ BOARD to develop a process for how to move forward post-ruling and then seek feedback on that process. Process should be ready to share & discuss at May meeting if not before. Consider – do members want us to work with CMA? Organizing a course through PMI or someone similar? Repository of useful articles and reports?
§ Plan session at conference.
§ EXTRA BOARD MEETING MARCH 2nd to work on conference session and overall strategy.
o Keep March 9 in the calendar for regular Board meeting.
· Public Policy Advisory Committee – Susan & Monica - DEFER
· Partner meeting – HR Survey & Workforce Planning – Susan - DEFER
· Brief Updates – Kim - DEFER
o Seniors’ strategy – Feb 18th meeting/rep
o CMA Draft policy on palliative care
o QELCCC & Specialist Forum meetings
· Concept of National Centre – Doris - DEFER
5. Infrastructure & Operations
· Membership renewals – Michelle - DEFER
· Summary of website updates – Michelle - DEFER
6. Member Engagement & Communication
· Member Communications – Kim - DEFER
7. Financial Report
· HOLD reporting of final 2014 results to March meeting
8. Next Meetings: Special meeting March 2, 2015. Regular Meeting: March 9, 2015.
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