Publication date: Oct 31, 2022 • 27 minutes ago • 5 minutes reading • 22 Comments Dr. Renee Fernandez, executive director of BC Family Doctors, says the new agreement contains features that would keep her in family practice rather than moving into a specialty area. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

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BC has announced major revisions to how family doctors are paid in an effort to address a primary care crisis that has left one million British Columbians without a family doctor.

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Instead of being paid $30 to $40 per visit, regardless of the severity of a patient’s problem, family doctors will be paid based on the time they spend with patients, the number of patients they see in a day, the number of patients connected to the practice them, the complexity of the patient’s issues and their office overhead. Start your day with a roundup of BC-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7am, Monday to Friday. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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Health Secretary Adrian Dix announced the “transformational” changes on Monday in a bid to attract doctors to family practice and encourage current family doctors not to leave for more lucrative medical professions. Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, president of Doctors of BC, said the new payment model “represents a seismic shift in the way we practice (family medicine) in B.C. It addresses the rising costs of running clinics and allows doctors to spend more time with their patients, “recognizing the value that doctors provide when they provide chronic care,” Dosanjh said.

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Chronic care refers to doctors who see a patient over several years and become familiar with their health needs. The deal means a full-time family doctor working 1,680 hours a year, who sees 1,250 patients with cases of moderate complexity and has 5,000 patient visits a year, will earn at least $385,000, compared to $250,000 at the current fee-for-service rate. model, according to the province. The mounting costs of running a practice — staff, building, equipment — typically cost doctors 30 to 40 percent of their gross income. There will be no cap on the number of patients a doctor can see in a day, giving GPs the ability to earn more if they take on more patients. Doctors must work at least one day a week to qualify for the new pay structure.

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Doctors of BC, president Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, said the new payment model “represents a seismic shift in the way we practice (family medicine) in BC” Photo by Jimmy Jeong /PNG The new payment model negotiated by the province, Doctors of BC and BC Family Doctors will come into effect in February. The province said it would cost taxpayers at least $708 million more over three years. Dr. Renee Fernandez, executive director of BC Family Doctors, which represents 2,800 family doctors, residents and medical students in BC, said changes to the payment system would have enticed her to continue practicing family medicine in downtown Vancouver. “That’s the kind of thing that would keep me in the game,” said Fernandez, who now provides focused maternity care and women’s health services. Working in a clinic on the edge of the Downtown Eastside for 10 years, Fernandez treated the elderly and patients with complex health needs and found that the current fee-for-service system “is not suitable for dealing with complex patients.”

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“We know that one size does not fit all when it comes to primary care,” he said. Fernandez is confident the new fee model will entice recent family practice graduates to work in family medicine and also bring back family doctors who left their practice for other types of medicine. “This will demonstrate to family practice residents training to do this type of work that this is a viable career choice that provides quality care to patients and the province, but also a reasonable ability to balance home and work life for physicians.” he said. Rita McCracken, a Vancouver-based family physician and assistant professor in UBC’s department of family practice, is skeptical that the changes will make a difference for people without a family doctor.

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The new payment system may keep family doctors from leaving the profession, but McCracken said the deal isn’t going to immediately “build” the number of doctors needed to provide primary care. The new deal for doctors is “a really important piece of the puzzle of fixing what’s wrong with our health care system, but it’s only one piece,” he said. “We must also ensure that the needs of patients and the health needs of our communities are met. And we can’t do that by focusing only on doctors. We have to have everyone at the table.” McCracken, who has researched the shortage of family doctors, would like a shift from a system that expects family doctors to be independent business owners to one where the government provides medical infrastructure such as clinics, medical equipment, support staff and allows for doctors to focus on their expertise.

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Dix acknowledged fee changes alone won’t fix the system, but pointed to the province’s human resources strategy to hire more health workers and incentives announced in June that provide loan forgiveness and a 25,000 signing bonus dollars for graduating family practice residents who take up practice as family physicians. The government will also create a provincial database that will allow people without a family doctor to be placed with a doctor in their area and receive new patients. The database, which will be developed by mid-2023, means that people looking for a family doctor will not have to contact each other in the hope of being taken on as patients. BC Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau said she wants to see a clear plan for how the province will measure outcomes, which should be measured by the number of British Columbians connected to a family doctor, the number of family doctors who are hired and the increase in preventive care.

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A shortage of family doctors means many British Columbians are missing out on preventive care, unable to get prescriptions, experiencing delayed diagnoses and forcing them to turn to understaffed and overcrowded emergency rooms. The government has been working since May with Doctors of BC to reform the fee-for-service payment model, which family doctors said was outdated and did not adequately compensate general practitioners for their work. The province and Doctors of BC also reached a three-year pilot physician agreement that increases funding for specialists, increases funding for rural medicine programs and increases after-hours on-call rates for doctors. The agreement has not yet been ratified by the Doctors of BC In August, Dix announced $118 million in short-term emergency funding to cover overhead costs for family physicians. As of Monday, 3,164 family doctors were approved for $25,000 each, costing the province $107 million. [email protected] [email protected]

Family doctor fees

Here’s the new annual payment structure for an average BC family doctor. It is based on a practice with 1,250 patients and includes about 30-40 percent to cover office overhead. • $130 per hour for 1,680 hours = $218,400 • Plus, $25 per hour for 5,000 visits = $125,000 • Plus, fees for patients with medical complexities = $41,600 (in quarterly increments) Total = $385,000

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title: “Bc Is Making A Huge Push In Reimbursements For Family Doctors " ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-27” author: “Thomas Deponte”

Publication date: Oct 31, 2022 • 4 minutes ago • 5 minutes reading • 22 Comments Dr. Renee Fernandez, executive director of BC Family Doctors, says the new agreement contains features that would keep her in family practice rather than moving into a specialty area. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

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BC has announced major revisions to how family doctors are paid in an effort to address a primary care crisis that has left one million British Columbians without a family doctor.

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Instead of being paid $30 to $40 per visit, regardless of the severity of a patient’s problem, family doctors will be paid based on the time they spend with patients, the number of patients they see in a day, the number of patients connected to the practice them, the complexity of the patient’s issues and their office overhead. Start your day with a roundup of BC-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7am, Monday to Friday. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder. The next issue of Sunrise presented by the Vancouver Sun will be in your inbox soon. We encountered a problem with your registration. PLEASE try again

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Health Secretary Adrian Dix announced the “transformational” changes on Monday in a bid to attract doctors to family practice and encourage current family doctors not to leave for more lucrative medical professions. Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, president of Doctors of BC, said the new payment model “represents a seismic shift in the way we practice (family medicine) in B.C. It addresses the rising costs of running clinics and allows doctors to spend more time with their patients, “recognizing the value that doctors provide when they provide chronic care,” Dosanjh said.

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Chronic care refers to doctors who see a patient over several years and become familiar with their health needs. The deal means a full-time family doctor working 1,680 hours a year, who sees 1,250 patients with cases of moderate complexity and has 5,000 patient visits a year, will earn at least $385,000, compared to $250,000 at the current fee-for-service rate. model, according to the province. The mounting costs of running a practice — staff, building, equipment — typically cost doctors 30 to 40 percent of their gross income. There will no longer be a cap on the number of patients a doctor can see in a day, giving family doctors the ability to earn more if they take on more patients. Doctors must work at least one day a week to qualify for the new pay structure.

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Doctors of BC, president Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, said the new payment model “represents a seismic shift in the way we practice (family medicine) in BC” Photo by Jimmy Jeong /PNG The new payment model negotiated by the province, Doctors of BC and BC Family Doctors will come into effect in February. The province said it would cost taxpayers at least $708 million more over three years. Dr. Renee Fernandez, executive director of BC Family Doctors, which represents 2,800 family doctors, residents and medical students in BC, said changes to the payment system would have enticed her to continue practicing family medicine in downtown Vancouver. “That’s the kind of thing that would keep me in the game,” said Fernandez, who now provides focused maternity care and women’s health services. Working in a clinic on the edge of the Downtown Eastside for 10 years, Fernandez treated the elderly and patients with complex health needs and found that the current fee-for-service system “is not suitable for dealing with complex patients.”

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“We know that one size does not fit all when it comes to primary care,” he said. Fernandez is confident the new fee model will entice recent family practice graduates to work in family medicine and also bring back family doctors who left their practice for other types of medicine. “This will demonstrate to family practice residents training to do this type of work that this is a viable career choice that provides quality care to patients and the province, but also a reasonable ability to balance home and work life for physicians.” he said. Rita McCracken, a Vancouver-based family physician and assistant professor in UBC’s department of family practice, is skeptical that the changes will make a difference for people without a family doctor.

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The new payment system may keep family doctors from leaving the profession, but McCracken said the deal isn’t going to immediately “build” the number of doctors needed to provide primary care. The new deal for doctors is “a really important piece of the puzzle of fixing what’s wrong with our health care system, but it’s only one piece,” he said. “We must also ensure that the needs of patients and the health needs of our communities are met. And we can’t do that by focusing only on doctors. We have to have everyone at the table.” McCracken, who has researched the shortage of family doctors, would like a shift from a system that expects family doctors to be independent business owners to one where the government provides medical infrastructure such as clinics, medical equipment, support staff and allows for doctors to focus on their expertise.

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Dix acknowledged fee changes alone won’t fix the system, but pointed to the province’s human resources strategy to hire more health workers and incentives announced in June that provide loan forgiveness and a 25,000 signing bonus dollars for graduating family practice residents who take up practice as family physicians. The government will also create a provincial database that will allow people without a family doctor to be placed with a doctor in their area and receive new patients. The database, which will be developed by mid-2023, means that people looking for a family doctor will not have to contact each other in the hope of being taken on as patients. BC Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau said she wants to see a clear plan for how the province will measure outcomes, which should be measured by the number of British Columbians connected to a family doctor, the number of family doctors who are hired and the increase in preventive care.

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Content of the article

A shortage of family doctors means many British Columbians are missing out on preventive care, unable to get prescriptions, experiencing delayed diagnoses and forcing them to turn to understaffed and overcrowded emergency rooms. The government has been working since May with Doctors of BC to reform the fee-for-service payment model, which family doctors said was outdated and did not adequately compensate general practitioners for their work. The province and Doctors of BC also reached a three-year pilot physician agreement that increases funding for specialists, increases funding for rural medicine programs and increases after-hours on-call rates for doctors. The agreement has not yet been ratified by the Doctors of BC In August, Dix announced $118 million in short-term emergency funding to cover overhead costs for family physicians. As of Monday, 3,164 family doctors were approved for $25,000 each, costing the province $107 million. [email protected] [email protected]

Family doctor fees

Here’s the new annual payment structure for an average BC family doctor. It is based on a practice with 1,250 patients and includes about 30-40 percent to cover office overhead. • $130 per hour for 1,680 hours = $218,400 • Plus, $25 per hour for 5,000 visits = $125,000 • Plus, fees for patients with medical complexities = $41,600 (in quarterly increments) Total = $385,000

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Content of the article

We apologize, but this video failed to load. More news, less ads: Our in-depth journalism is made possible by the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 a week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to the Vancouver Sun, The Province, the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

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