On Wednesday, the provincial government announced $118 million in temporary funding to help family doctors cover operational costs this fall — a pot of money that is expected to help nearly 3,550 physicians, or about 70 per cent of B.C.’s family doctors.
“This funding, although temporary, should help local doctors ensure the viability of their practices in the face of rising business costs, and that in turn should be good news for patients,” Dr. Graham Dodd, Thompson Region Division of Family Practice chair, said in a news release.
“We still have a long way to go, but I’m hopeful that this funding gives doctors some of the stability they need while government and Doctors of B.C. complete the new compensation model for the fall.”
The province and Doctors of B.C. are currently negotiating a new physician master agreement, including new compensation models. General agreements have been reached on key components of the new payment model, including the time spent by family physicians providing primary-care services, patient complexity and attachment of patients to physicians.
Most family physicians in B.C. are paid via a fee-for-service model in which doctors receive a basic rate of about $32 per patient visit. Physicians who like this model want to be better compensated for their time, paperwork and overhead costs.
The Health Ministry has also been slowly increasing options for salary and contract positions and health-authority-run clinics where physicians are not responsible for overhead costs.
