Stabilization funding announced for family physicians

August 24, 2022

Doctors of BC President Dr Ramneek Dosanjh and Health Minister Adrian Dix have announced $118 M in funding to help stabilize family practices in BC for four months, at which time a new payment model for family physicians is expected to be developed and implemented.

Dr Dosanjh at joint government news conference

The interim funding provides a bridge for practices and clinics to meet their expenses and to keep their doors open for patients from October 1 to January 31. The goal is to help stem the continuing closures of clinics around the province that are leaving even more patients without a family doctor. The new payment model, expected to be implemented by the end of January, will recognize rising business costs and acknowledge the time and complexity for physicians who provide longitudinal care.

The stabilization funding has two components: $75 M in new funding from government and $43 M from the General Practice Services Committee (GPSC). The total from both components of the funding will be on average $27,000 per physician for four months, with some of the funding will go directly to clinics to help cover overhead costs.

In her statement to media, Dr Dosanjh said: This an important first step, but there is still hard work ahead of us to achieve a new payment model that recognizes the pressures of rising business costs and recognizes the value of family physicians - the time and complexity of providing longitudinal patient care. We want to ensure that everyone has a family doctor who can provide them with quality care that they need and deserve.”

An application process for the stabilization funding will open in September, and payments are expected to start flowing to physicians and clinics before the end of October.

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