The Cheticamp Medical Clinic is one of the family practices in Nova Scotia selected to pilot a new funding model for family doctors.
A release form the province stated the new model for is designed to encourage more team-
based care and to make it easier for patients to get the care they need, when and where they need it. The payment model, called blended capitation, will compensate family doctors based on how many patients they have and the number of services they provide. Currently, family doctors are paid using a fee-for-service model or by contract.
Doctors Nova Scotia and the government worked together to develop the new model. Dr. Leisha Hawker, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, said there are still three practices in consideration so the pilot may expand.
Participating family doctors will continue to be paid using their existing payment model, but at the end of the pilot period, they will receive a top-up if they earned more under the new model.
The province stated the project will likely run until at least March of next year.