Here we are, a new year and some decidedly new beginnings. With the launch of the Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) Payment Model on February 1, I know many of us are filled with a mix of trepidation, excitement, and hope – the kind of hope we haven’t felt for our patients and our profession for a long time.
BC Family Doctors has been working ceaselessly on the LFP Payment Schedule as well as member resources to support those of you moving to the LFP Payment Model. On our website, you will find the Simplified LFP Guide and LFP Billing Question Library, with more resources to come. These add to the comprehensive resources we already offer those of you in fee-for-service and other payment models.
It is not only your trust and input that allows this unprecedented work, but your continued membership in BC Family Doctors that directly funds our ability to be your voice, advocate, and support you in all your work, and in the work we have yet to do.
I want us to reflect and celebrate where we are at. This is BIG! We simply would not be here without you, the family doctors who made your asks clear, who amplified the voices of patients and communities, who sit on sometimes tedious committees to get this work done right, and who work to forge relationships.
We also would not be here without unrelenting work of our Executive Director Dr. Renee Fernandez, Negotiations Representative Dr. Maryam Zeineddin, and the dedicated staff at BC Family Doctors (Pennie, Rachel, Cait and Meg). Special thanks to our intrepid board and executive who, quite frankly, deserve the most accolade-ish of accolades. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
While this payment model is only ONE part of the extensive work and advocacy needed to improve health care for patients and providers alike in BC, it is a massive, great, enormous (insert adjective here) step! There is still much work to be done to ensure all family doctors and their patients thrive wherever they live and work. Thanks to your membership, BC Family Doctors can continue to do just that. I look forward to the opportunities, advocacy and change that 2023 brings.
