B.C. launching new payment model for family doctors in 2023

The government of British Columbia plans to launch a new payment model in February to try to recruit and retain more family doctors in the province, where one in five residents does not have one.

Provincial health officials announced the changes during a Monday news event, saying physicians will be able to stop participating in the current fee-for-service system in early 2023. Under that system, doctors are paid about $30 per patient visit, whether they're treating a common cold or a complex chronic health problem. 

The new payment model will take into account factors that include how much time a doctor spends with a patient, the complexity of their needs, the number of patients a doctor sees daily, their administrative costs and the total number of patients a doctor supports through their office.

"We are making family practice the priority it should be," said Health Minister Adrian Dix.

Most family doctors in B.C. are independent contractors and run their practices as businesses, paying for such overhead costs as office space and staff and medical equipment. One of the complaints from family doctors has been the price of operating a practice, which, on average, is between $80,000 and $85,000 a year, an official said Monday.

The number of people without a family doctor in the province has grown from about 340,000 in 2003 to 908,000 in 2017 and is expected to be higher this year, according to Dix.

WATCH | Adrian Dix speaks about the details of the new agreement:

Family physicians will be getting a significant raise under the new compensation model.

The provincial government says a full-time family doctor will be paid about $385,000 a year, up from the current $250,000, under the new three-year Physician Master Agreement reached with Doctors of B.C. last week. 

In November 2021, a report published in the Canadian Family Physician journal found up-and-coming family doctors are choosing more hospital-based work and specialized practice rather than family medicine — in part because they're worried about the consequences of B.C.'s fee-for-service model.

In addition to pay increases, the government says in a statement that the funds will also cover income disparities and new hourly premiums for after-hours services.

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said in a statement that while the announcement seems to address major concerns expressed by family doctors, it's important that the plan also measures outcomes.

Shirley Bond, former B.C. Liberal health minister and current opposition health critic, said while she is relieved to see some action, she would like to see more details.

She said while the plan mirrors what physicians and the opposition have been calling for, it is, at this stage, solely an announcement.