The Thompson Region Division of Family Practice say they are pleased by the announcement of a new, tentative agreement between Doctors of BC and the provincial government after nearly a year of negotiation. The unveiling of a new payment model for family practice, which comes as part of the Physician Master Agreement (PMA) announcement, is a significant change.
The new payment model will allow family doctors to bill at an hourly rate for the time spent with patients, for time spent on indirect care and clinical administrative work, and for the number of encounters and the total number of patients they support on their panels. Payments will be based in part on the complexity of those patient encounters. Initial reaction from board members, who are practising family physicians, is one of encouragement.
“I think it will serve family practice much better than the current model and will encourage people to get into longitudinal family practice. There will now actually be some financial incentive and benefit to doing, or so it seems,” says Dr. Lennard Pretorius, a family physician and Division board member.
Doctors from across the Kamloops-Thompson Region have been involved in consultations with Doctors of BC, which has led to the creation of the proposed new model and the new PMA, which members will vote on next month.
The Thompson Region Division of Family Practice represents more than 200 family physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, medical residents, and retired physicians in Kamloops, Barriere, Sun Peaks, Logan Lake, Chase, and the North Shuswap.
~ Thompson Region Division of Family Practice
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