The B.C. government is doing away with the old payment model for family doctors and introducing one they say focuses on patients.
Previously a fee-for-service model was used, where doctors were paid primarily on how many patients they saw in a day.
The new model will take different factors into account, including the time a doctor spends with a patient, the number of patients a doctor sees in a day, and the complexity of the issues a patient is facing.
Provincial officials said the new model will also help retain and attract family doctors.
They said it will give doctors the freedom and flexibility to create the kind of practice that works best for them and their patients.
It will also provide more equitable pay for the work-family doctors are doing.
The move will see the average family doctor being paid 385 thousand dollars a year….up from 250 thousand.
The new payment model will begin in February.
-Files by Josiah Spyker, My East Kootenay Now