Winter 2019 (Volume 29, Number 4)

Report from the ORA

By Jane Purvis, MD, FRCPC

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The Ontario Rheumatology Association continues to actively represent the rheumatologists of our province on many fronts. We continue to work closely with the Ontario government on access to medications as well as lab test reforms, and with the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) on insurance issues. The Informatics committee is working on creating a dashboard for a rheumatology EMR, which will allow participants to view their own practice outcomes and compare themselves to the aggregate of participating rheumatologists within the province. We are planning workshops for rheumatologists who are new to practice and, this year, we are also planning ones for those looking to retire. The website Rheumcareers continues to connect those looking for locums or long-term positions with those who have openings. The RheumOpportunities committee has created a subcommittee to consider northern Ontario rheumatology, with representation from rheumatologists based in the south who travel up, as well as those working full-time in the North, along with allied health care practitioners and other stakeholders. Our hope is to be able to evaluate all the practice models being utilized in the north and find ways to foster and develop these to help create a sustainable practice format in the North.

Our annual meeting moved to a new location, Kingbridge Conference Centre in King City and was held May 24-26, 2019. This was our most successful and best-attended event yet, with a stellar list of speakers including Professor Dennis McGonagle, Dr. Arthur Kavanaugh, Dr. Iain McInnes, Dr. Rick Adachi, Dr. Tom Appleton, Dr. Janet Pope, Dr. Edward Keystone and Dr. Raashid Luqmani. We had more than 200 attendees, and all the plenaries, workshops and symposia were well attended. We are planning our next meeting, to be held at Kingbridge as well, on April 17-19, 2020. Save the date!

The ORA board at their most recent meeting: From left to right; Back row: Dr. Carter Thorne, Dr. Tom Appleton, Dr. Henry Averns, Dr. Rick Adachi, and Dr. Imtiaz Khan; Middle row: Mr. Denis Morrice, Dr. Vinod Chandran, Dr. Art Karasik, Dr. Felix Leung, Dr. Philip Baer, Ms. Sandy Kennedy, Dr. Nikhil Chopra, and Dr. Deborah Levy; Front Row: Dr. Thanu Ruban, Dr. Janet Pope, Dr. Jane Purvis, Dr. Vandana Ahluwalia, and Dr. Julie Kovacs.

Jane Purvis, MD, FRCPC
President, Ontario Rheumatology Association
Rheumatologist,
Peterborough, Ontario