Individual contract for new-to-practice family physicians

What is it?

An hours based contract for individual family physicians who do not have a patient panel and wish to join an existing group practice to build a panel of attached patients. The contract template is available here.

Who is it for?

The contract is for individual physicians who do not have an established practice with their own patient panel. It is available to physicians who meet the following criteria:

  • The physician is prepared to provide community longitudinal family practice services.
  • The physician does not have an established patient panel, and 
  • The physician is prepared to join a full-service group clinic.
  • The physician is prepared to commit to a minimum of 0.5 Full Time Equivalent (FTE).

Length of contract

The contract duration is for a maximum of 2 years and provides either party the option to terminate without cause with 6 months’ notice. 

Subject to the agreement of the other physicians in the clinic, a physician may also terminate the contract on 60 days’ notice where the physician agrees to continue to provide longitudinal family practice services on an FFS basis or under the LFP payment model for the duration of the New to Practice (NTP) contract’s term.

Payment and Incentives

Summary: 

The following payments and incentives are offered according to Ministry’s memo to family medicine residents and NTP Family Physician’s (FPs) who completed their medical residencies in 2022, 2022 or 2023:

Contract Payments:

  • $303,137 per annum contract rate per FTE
  • $22,483 per annum per FTE of conditional bonuses

Incentives:

  • $25,000 signing bonus per FTE if eligibility requirements are met;
  • $50,000 loan forgiveness payment per FTE if eligibility requirements are met; and,
  • Potential for additional contributions to loan forgiveness of $20,000 per year for years two to five if eligibility requirements are met.

Overhead

  • In addition to the individual contract payments and incentives available to eligible FPs, the Ministry will also provide an overhead contribution of $75,000 per FTE per year to support the overhead of the clinic that the NTP FP is joining.

Payment Information

Payment under the contract is based on hours worked and made directly to the physician for longitudinal family practice services provided in the clinic. The contract requires a full-time physician to provide a minimum of 1680 hours of service to a maximum of 2100 hours of service per year. The minimum contribution of a physician working under a part time adjusted contract is half time (a minimum of 840 hours per year).

The annual compensation for a full-time physician varies from year to year as follows:

  • Year 1: A 1.0 FTE position will receive $303,137 (base rate) plus an additional $22,483 year end bonus for completing QI training activities and meeting panel targets in year 1. The total amount available under the contract pending fulfillment of obligations is $325,620 in year one.
  • Year 2: A 1.0 FTE position will receive $303,137 (base rate), plus an additional $22,483 for ongoing QI activities. The total amount available under the contract pending fulfillment of obligations is $325,620 in year two.

The physician is entitled to bill FFS separately for services outside the scope of the contract, including:

  • Services provided outside of the clinic.
  • Services provided to third parties.
  • Specialized services provided to referred patients who are not attached to the practice, and
  • GPSC networking fees and fees for the Long Term Care Initiative. 

Time spent for services that are outside the scope of the contract and billed under FFS cannot contribute to the contract’s hours requirement.

A physician under the contract is required to contribute to the overhead costs of the clinic at the rate set out in the Practice Agreement.

Incentives Information

The incentives will be offered until May 31, 2024. The Ministry of Health will assess over the course of 2023-24 whether the incentives will continue to be offered beyond that date.

NTP FPs who completed their medical residencies in 2021, 2022 or 2023 are eligible for the individual incentives outlined above. This includes international medical graduates (IMGs) who completed their family medicine residency through the IMG-BC program.

The incentives will also be available to those NTP FPs completing their residencies in 2021, 2022 or 2023 who have already committed to and are working in a longitudinal practice.

NTP FPs who completed their residencies prior to 2021 and are already working on a service contract in longitudinal primary care may also be eligible for the annual $20,000 loan forgiveness payments from years two to five depending on demonstrated eligibility and their year of practice under their service contract. They will not be eligible for the $25,000 signing bonus and/or year one $50,000 loan forgiveness payment.

Incentives will be pro-rated accordingly for any commitment less than a full FTE.

For the loan forgiveness payments, eligible loans will include both government-sponsored student loans as well as private loans or lines of credit. The candidate will need to demonstrate a loan is associated with medical education and training and provide the amount of the outstanding loan as of the start of the NTP service contract.

NTP Practice Expectations

The new-to-practice physician and the physicians in the clinic must agree to provide community longitudinal primary care services aligned with the principles of a Patient Medical Home and either participate in an existing Primary Care Network (PCN), or commit to actively support the development of a PCN in the community where one is planned.

The physicians in the clinic must also agree to include the new physician in the practice. The NTP contract requires that clinic physicians and the new physician to sign a Practice Agreement that outlines how they will co-ordinate their work to provide services to patients and they must provide that agreement to the Health Authority to confirm that the Practice Agreement supports or enables the NTP physician in meeting their contractual obligations.

The new physician must agree to act as the regular and most responsible primary care provider for a balanced patient panel of at least 800 new patients by the end of the first year of the contract and 1,250 by the end of the second year.

Administration

The contract is administered by the regional health authority.

For more information

  • Physicians who are interested in the NTP contract are encouraged to explore opportunities posted on the HealthMatchBC website or by contacting Audra Fediurek, Vice President, Human Resources Strategies and Services, Health Match BC, at .
  • Physicians who are interested in working in a community that has a Primary Care Network (PCN) may also contact their local PCN manager or Division of Family Practice or Health Authority to explore opportunities. If the community of interest does not yet have a PCN, requests will be supported by the local Division of Family Practice and/or Health Authority.

How to know if the contract is right for you

You are an individual family practitioner who is interested in income security while establishing a full-service family practice and building your own patient panel within a community group clinic. 

For newly practicing physicians interested in providing community longitudinal care this provides an opportunity for a stable income while building a practice panel. 

Webinar recording

Mr Paul Straszak, Doctors of BC Chief Negotiator, and Mr Mark Armitage, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health walked members through the group contract for practicing full service family physicians and the individual contract for new-to-practice family physicians followed by a Q & A session in this webinar.

 

For more information on the Individual Contract for New-to-Practice Family Physicians, email .