Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Longitudinal Family Physician Payment Model

This February marks one year since the launch of the Longitudinal Family Physician Payment Model (LFP) in BC, the start of a seismic shift that is making family practice more rewarding and sustainable. Since its launch, 4,000 family doctors have enrolled in the LFP model, of which more than 500 are new to practice or newly billing MSP, and many who were poised to close their offices are choosing to continue practicing. 

The model was developed in response to an urgent need to retain and attract family physicians in community settings and is the result of what you told Doctors of BC, BC Family Doctors, and the Ministry of Health you needed to stabilize and strengthen community longitudinal family practice.

This transformative shift around how family physicians are compensated is something to celebrate as work continues to expand the payment model to include family physicians providing care in facilities, namely: in-patient, maternity, palliative and long-term care. Further details will soon be shared about this expansion that will help make it more responsive to these broader needs. Ongoing work includes further adaptations for rural medicine, incorporating team-based care, and expanding the model to include family doctors working in emergency departments.

The payment model does not stand on its own. It is just one of the building blocks toward strengthening our health care system. We continue to listen to your feedback and act based upon what we hear and learn from you. We recognize there are many challenges ahead of us, and we are committed to continuing to collaboratively address those challenges together. 

We’ve heard from many of you that the LFP Payment Model has made a difference for you and your patients. Here are some recent success stories:

• Dr Francis Vala returns to family medicine

• Dr Johann van Eeden: How the new payment model is supporting patients and doctors

If you have a story to share about your experience with the model and how it has changed your practice and positively impacted your patients, please email a short blurb and a photo to View Email Addresscommunications@doctorsofbc.ca. 

The model demonstrates the transformative different we can make for patients and the health care system when we elevate the physician voice and work together as one.