British Columbia has struggled with an ongoing doctor shortage, with an estimated one million British Columbians without a family doctor. This is now being addressed through several initiatives, including a pay increase, meant to help support primary care physicians with costs associated with running a practice.
The British Columbia provincial government announced it is making big changes to how general practitioners are paid. The governement, along with
Beginning on Feb. 1, 2023, full-time family physicians who opt into the new Longitudinal Family Physician Payment Model will make $385,000 per year. The Ministry of Health says this is based on a doctor working 1,680 hours, holding a roster of 1,250 patients with average complexity and completing 5,000 visits a year.
The new model represents a 54 per cent increase in gross salary, and accounts for a system that compensates doctors for visits, hours, and volume and complexity of patients.
This is welcome news to doctors and patients throughout the province and will help address the challenges in primary care.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says, “This brand new model takes into account five factors, including the time a doctor spends with a patient, the number of patients a doctor sees in a day, the number of patients a doctor supports through their office, the complexity of the issues a patient is facing, and administrative costs currently paid directly by family doctors.”
Doctors have the choice to opt into the new payment structure or continue with the fee-for-service payment model, it is completely up to the physician.
These changes, in addition to other planned improvements is a significant step in increasing the recruitment and retention of physicians practicing family medicine in British Columbia.
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