'I'm not convinced': Many family doctors hesitant as new B.C. payment model kicks in
A new payment model for family doctors in B.C. kicked in Tuesday, but many are still hesitant.
The model was first announced in October, with officials hoping it will help address some of the issues the province has in attracting and retaining physicians.
Under the plan, doctors will be paid based on the time they spend with patients, the number of patient visits, the number of patients in their practice and the medical complexity of those patients, officials said at the time.
The province estimates a full-time doctor will receive about $385,000 per year under the new model, up from $250,000 currently.
At a news conference Wednesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said he believed the change was “the most significant reform to primary care” in his lifetime.
“This is an important moment in the history of the public health-care system. It is not going to improve everything overnight, but it shows our joint determination to make things better,” Dix said, referring to the collaboration between the province and Doctors of BC.
As of Wednesday morning, just over 1,000 doctors had signed onto the new payment plan, about 20 per cent of the roughly 6,500 physicians across the province.
Dix said he believed there will be “many more” in the coming days.
One of those still waiting is Vancouver family physician Dr. Anna Wolak.
“I wasn’t comfortable signing up for it yet and I’m not sure if it’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen,” Wolak said. “It didn’t seem as rosy as was initially made out to be in October/November.”
Wolak said there were still a number of questions that remained unanswered, particularly for doctors with already-established practices, around how the new plan would be of benefit.
“As minimal as the reward is, people are still rewarded for the complexity of their patients. We don’t see that translating yet in the new model,” she said. “There was a document that was sent out, but it was very vague.”
She said at one point officials held a one-hour webinar with doctors, but afterwards, there were still “300 questions that remained unanswered.”
Dix responded to concerns by saying: “We know there will be bumps in the road.”
“There are of course going to be questions under a new model, but the core of this model is to respect the work doctors do,” Dix said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.