Today, BC Family Doctors is pleased to announce the details of a new payment model for family doctors. We believe this significant investment in family medicine will better support longitudinal family doctors and patients across the province.
In partnership with Doctors of BC, we have been advocating for a payment model that reflects what you told us, that family physician compensation needs to:
- Ensure physician autonomy and choice
- Increase family physician compensation
- Value spending time with patients
- Pay for time spent on indirect care and clinical administration
- Recognize the complexity of longitudinal care
- Address rising overhead and business costs
We believe this new choice for compensation does just that. The Longitudinal Family Physician Payment Model will address the stability and sustainability of family medicine.
Era of Change
We are hopeful this compensation choice will keep existing family doctors in practice, encourage family doctors practicing in other areas to come back to community-based family medicine, and recruit new-to-practice doctors into longitudinal family medicine.
The Family Doctor Payment Model values longitudinal family doctors for what you do. It addresses the compensation inequity between longitudinal family doctors and those working in in environments without overhead costs. It is not a contract and does not involve the health authorities.
This new choice for compensation builds on the fee-for-service model, including payment for time, patient encounters, and your overall patient panel.
Time
- You will bill daily for the time you spend providing in-office care and home visits, including the time for indirect patient care and clinical administration
Encounters
- You will also bill for each patient that you see, in person or by phone/video, using simplified encounter codes of varying fee values.
Patient panel
- You will also receive a payment based on your number of active patients and the complexity of those patients. The payment per patient will vary based on each patient’s complexity.
In short, you will be paid for seeing patients; you will be paid for your indirect patient care; you will be paid for your panel.
You spoke. We listened. We advocated for you.
We commit to keeping you updated about further developments. Family doctor members can learn more about the new payment model and access a compensation calculator on our detailed member webpage. If you are not a member, you can learn more here.
Questions or Feedback? Connect with us directly with any new payment model inquiries at LFP.Billing@doctorsofbc.ca.
Dr. Danette Dawkin, BC Family Doctors President, provides her thoughts on what this compensation model means for family doctors. Click on the image to view the video.