New Brunswick has unveiled a new doctor compensation model it says will be a win-win for everyone.
Officials with the province and the New Brunswick Medical Society made the announcement on Thursday.
The province said the new model encourages doctors to take on more patients and makes the compensation package for primary care physicians more competitive.
“Money alone will not fix health care. It takes new policy approaches, too,” Premier Blaine Higgs said in a news release.
“This new model creates an incentive for doctors who are in a place in their life that they can take on more patients. It invests in New Brunswick doctors and will benefit New Brunswick patients.”
Fee-for-service physicians will be able to bill for more services, such as office visits for minor ailments and other work done by a nurse.
The province is also creating a new registry to provide greater insight into the patient load of each family physician.
Physicians will be compensated to maintain their information on the registry, using a pay scale that encourages them to take on more patients.
The move is seen as a positive step by the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society.
“These changes will also facilitate the transition to team-based care and recognize the additional costs associated with larger patient rosters,” Dr. Paula Keating said in the release.
“We have no doubt this will help with physician retention in the short term and serve as a bridge while we work with the government and our health-care partners on longer-term solutions to the primary health care crisis.”
