PAY STRUCTURE MIGHT NOT MATCH POPULATION’S NEEDS

SOLUTION: NEW BRUNSWICK’S BLENDED SYSTEM PROVIDES INCENTIVES TO TAKE ON MORE SENIORS, AND ENCOURAGES COLLABORATION

A blended payment model may be helping New Brunswick keep more local doctors.

For over a year, the New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) has been overseeing a program in collaboration with the province’s Department of Health. It allows physicians to use a blended capitation model of billing for medical services.

Blended capitation allows for a combination of fee-forservice billing, used by all other Atlantic Canadian provinces, and a per capita funding for a set number of patients. Fee-for-service provides a payment to doctors for every service they provide.

Across the province, 42 physicians have signed up for the project.

Anthony Knight, CEO of the NBMS says new billing practices provide incentives for physicians to take on more seniors as patients and collaborate more with other health professionals.

“Young physicians, early career physicians, are very attracted to this model,” said Knight.

“There’s lots of good evidence to show that a blended payment model encourages doctors to have practices that meet the population’s demands.”

Knight said the billing changes have been implemented as part of the program, known as Family Medicine New Brunswick, which patients choose to opt into.

It allows patients to book appointments with their family physician online, access their health records, and make appointments during nights and weekends.

The program has provided enrolled physicians with free coverage of an electronic medical record system.

Knight said the initiative is still new but he hopes to see the number of physicians enrolled double within the next two years.

“We’ve had residents who’ve completed their training stay in New Brunswick because of this model,” he said.