Doctors of BC and the Ministry of Health are currently working on a new payment model for longitudinal primary care. As this model expands, we anticipate this will significantly impact the approach to the provision of in-hospital care by community longitudinal family physicians.
As a result, the GPSC is extending current levels of funding available to support in-patient care past March 2023, into the next fiscal year (March 2024) until a new payment mechanism is in place to support this work. This includes the additional bridge funding which was made available last year.
The GPSC recognizes that there are family physicians looking after their own patients in the hospital that are not part of an unattached in-patient care program. Many of these physicians are also struggling to maintain this important service under the current compensation model. As we proceed with the next phases of work in developing a new payment mechanism to support in-patient care by family physicians, funding will also apply to this group of physicians.
More information will be made available in the coming weeks.