Join BC Health Care Matters on May 19
…ing more and more family doctors by the month. Our province is at 900,000 citizens without a family doctor – 1 out of 5 people. Even walk-in clinics are disappearing. The citizens are being abandoned. I am a family doctor, and unless there is major primary care reform in this province, I may be one of a dying breed. Never, in my 20 years of practice in BC, have I seen family medicine in crisis as it is now. We cannot allow further erosion of prima…
Statement on Minister Dix’s Comments
We were disappointed to hear the comments by BC’s Health Minister Adrian Dix in the Debate on Budget Estimates on May 10, 2022. Minister Dix suggested nurse practitioners provide better primary care than family doctors and spend more time with patients. Such comments are disheartening and divisive. BC’s primary care crisis will not be solved by fostering an “us vs them” culture. It will be solved by communication, collaboration and celebration of…
Billing Tips Videos – Now on YouTube!
…o the BC Family Doctors and FPSC channels. The content is developed by physician billing experts right here in BC. You can count on it to be accurate, clear and concise. Start by learning about the billing supports that BC Family Doctors has to offer online. BC Family Doctors Online Billing Resources A Quick Tour of the Simplified Fee Guide And don’t forget: each physician member can also register one MOA or clinic staff for BC Family Doctors webs…
Creating Solutions for Family Medicine: Member Survey Report
…the future of work for family doctors and the future of primary care for British Columbians. 20% of you shared your perspective on how we can improve the working lives of family doctors. We are grateful for your thought-provoking responses to our survey. As family physicians, you are the core of our primary care system. You are foundational to ensuring that BC citizens have effective and responsive health care. And you told us in no uncertain term…
Primary care access: our veterans deserve better
…marked Remembrance Day—a time to honour veterans for their service and sacrifice. But many veterans face a new battle when they come home: trying to get basic healthcare. According to the Veterans Ombudman’s 2023-2024 annual report, veterans across Canada are struggling to find family doctors. This lack of access to primary care has been identified as one of the biggest issues veterans face today. The report revealed that without family doctors, v…
Where have all the family doctors gone?
New data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) highlights important shifts and challenges in the family physician workforce across Canada. The growth of family physicians has slowed, raising concerns about the health system’s capacity to meet the needs of a growing and aging population. While the total number of family doctors has risen over time, the rate of growth has not kept pace with the demand for health services. This d…
Our new report highlights success of LFP Payment Model
…of progress: More doctors, better care Two years ago, nearly one million British Columbians were without a family doctor. The primary care system was in crisis, and doctors were leaving family medicine due to financial strain, administrative burdens and burnout. That’s when the Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) Payment Model was created. Launched on February 1, 2023, it was a bold, collaborative solution to stabilize family medicine and improve…
Fee-For-Service: Long-Term Care Updates
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Fixing the referral system: Cutting delays and restoring trust in our health system
…estine Esume In the different countries where I have practiced, family physicians do a lot to help their patients. We are the first point of contact, we know our patients’ histories and we provide continuity of care. If you take family doctors out of the system, healthcare collapses. That’s true in Canada, too. Family doctors build trust and connection with their patients. In Nigeria, the UK, and now in Canada, I’ve seen how people confide in thei…
Your voice matters: Join a BC Family Doctors committee
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President
…at loneliness is killing millions. As I consider my twenty-one years in medicine and the upcoming year as your president of BC Family Doctors, I think of Dr. Murthy’s anecdote to loneliness. My wish for the coming months is to build and strengthen connections: the circles between our membership and other medical organizations. There are meetings where I have sat enveloped with loneliness. Despite tens of colleagues all around me in a large banquet…
Dr Walter Reynolds
On August 10, 2020, Dr Walter Reynolds – a Family Physician – was unyieldingly attacked while providing patient care. Husband to Anelia and father to two girls – Walter succumbed to his injuries, leaving a family and community abruptly bereft of a man described as deeply caring, always smiling and willing to give the shirt off his back I was on summer vacation with my own family when I heard of the attack. As I read the early reports, my heart wa…
Renew your membership for 2023
…C Family Doctors has been advocating for your needs. We led an awareness raising campaign on the crisis in family medicine. We helped achieve a PMA with historic funding increases for doctors that delivers on BC Family Doctors’ priorities, including tackling issues like re-referrals and administrative burdens. We co-led discussions with government to secure the Longitudinal Family Physician Payment Model, giving you a new compensation option. You…
Who doesn’t have a family doctor?
Family medicine is the front door of the health-care system. But for too many people in Canada, that front door is now closed. Results from the OurCare national survey estimate that more than one in five Canadian adults – 6.5 million people – do not have a family physician (FP) or nurse practitioner (NP) they can see regularly for care, a situation that has become worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary care – the type of care provided by fam…
BC Family Doctors Billing Tools
…e access to the most up-to-date billing tools and resources for family physicians working in both the fee-for-service and the LFP Payment Models. All of the resources below are designed to optimize and simplify your billing work – so you can focus on clinical care. Our Simplified LFP Guide and Simplified Fee Guide offer clear and concise information on the most common codes used by family doctors under fee-for-service and the LFP Payment Model. In…
Privacy Policy
…ns how we collect, use, disclose and safeguard personal information. 1. DEFINITION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION Personal information is any information that is identifiable to you as an individual. This may include, but is not limited to, your name, gender, age, date of birth, language of correspondence, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, email address, and membership in an organization. Personal information does not include publicly availa…
How AI could shape family medicine: Insights from Dr. Tahmeena Ali
Artificial intelligence is making waves across industries, and healthcare is no exception. In a recent CBC story, Dr. Tahmeena Ali, past president of BC Family Doctors, shares her perspective on AI’s potential to transform medicine. From streamlining administrative tasks to supporting clinical decisions, AI offers opportunities to enhance efficiency in healthcare. It also raises questions about patient safety, privacy, and the evolving role of fa…
2024 Wrapped: gratitude, growth and looking ahead
…incredible work you do, with gratitude from your patients, colleagues, families, and community. Balancing clinical practice, raising two teenage daughters, and contributing to this remarkably nimble organization—the economic and political voice for all family doctors—has been no small feat. BC Family Doctors is a powerhouse advocate for family doctors in B.C., with our staff and board raising their voices louder than ever, both within and outside…
The human cost of a broken system: Why I push for change
…a doctor. In fact, I wouldn’t have been voted “most likely to become a physician” in my graduating class. I had my fair share of adventures and missteps, and medicine wasn’t on my radar at all. But life has a way of leading us in unexpected directions. Everything changed when I spent time in Madagascar as a missionary. I saw firsthand how difficult it was for people to access even the most basic healthcare. I prayed for guidance, asking what I sho…
Improving new payment models for rural family doctors
B.C.’s Longitudinal Family Physician Payment Model (LFP) and Alberta’s Physician Comprehensive Care Model (PCCM) were designed to better support family doctors by reflecting the realities of modern healthcare. But these new models narrowed the financial gap between rural and urban physicians, reducing the previous pay advantage for physicians in rural and remote communities. Challenges for rural family doctors Rural incentives—such as fee premium…