NBHC Sustainability
January 08, 2018
Doctors Nova Scotia contends the province is losing family doctors to other provinces, notably New Brunswick, because of the way it pays for their services. The group met to discuss different options of being paid for their work that includes additional time spent with patients. As an example, the group cites New Brunswick's recently made changes that pays doctors on a per-patient basis, but also offers an "access adjustment" for providing patients with timely care. Doctors Nova Scotia says it favours a blended system that combines fee-for-service with:
- Capitation: Paying doctors a fixed amount to provide care to a defined group of patients or "patient roster." Physicians would be paid per patient, not per service or per visit; and
- Negation: If a family doctor-assigned patient visits a walk-in clinic, the fee paid to the clinic would be recouped from the family doctor's next payment for that patient. The physician loses money when his patient seeks treatment at a walk-in clinic.
Related News:
Des médecins de famille veulent changer le modèle de financement des cliniques - Radio-Canada