Provincial Attachment System

The Provincial Attachment System (PAS), announced by the BC government and Doctors of BC, provides a coordinated and seamless approach to connecting patients who do not have a family doctor with physicians who are able to accept new patients. It is another step in our journey to revitalize and strengthen family medicine. The aims of the PAS include:

• Helping unattached patients who need a family doctor.
• Helping doctors who are building new practices or expanding their panels.
• Measuring system progress and identifying capacity so that communities can plan more effectively.

The PAS will include all longitudinal family physicians regardless of their payment model.

The Provincial Attachment System consists of two streams:

Patient-facing:
The Health Connect Registry is where unattached patients around the province can register to identify that they are seeking a family doctor in their community.

Provider-facing:
The “provider-facing” stream for community longitudinal care providers consists of two streams:

• Panel Registry: Family physicians providing longitudinal care are asked to log into this registry to verify their clinic information and identify whether they are able to take on new patients. Physicians are also asked to submit patient panel information, which will then populate into the Panel Registry. Please visit our EMR resources page for help in submitting your panel information.
• Clinic and Provider Registry: Medical directors log into this registry to provide basic information about their clinics, including address, operating hours, and physician and clinical staff. The registry is pre-populated with clinic information, where possible. Information gathered will provide a big picture on the current medical care provided in a community and identify care gaps to support future planning.

Participation in the PAS is now part of the eligibility requirements for the Community Longitudinal Family Physician (CLFP) Payment. Non-LFP physicians submit their list of empanelled patients through MSP Teleplan. While the CLFP Payment continues to be based on Majority Source of Care (MSOC) methodology, future CLFP Payments (for Fee-for-Service physicians and eligible AP physicians) will be calculated based on panel data in the PAS. In the future, it is important that physicians populate their panel data into the PAS for accurate calculation of the CLFP Payments. Please see the FPSC website for more information about the 2023 CLFP Payment.

The latest news on the PAS is available in the newsletter that was sent to physicians on April 9, 2024. This newsletter provides an overview on upcoming PAS changes to enhance patient attachment.

On April 17, the Ministry of Health will launch enhancements to the Provincial Attachment System (PAS) and the Health Connect Registry (HCR) to help improve and accelerate patient attachment while reducing the burden on physicians. Read more in this Ministry of Health memo.

A trust-based relationship between patients and physicians is critically important and there must be flexibility and choice for both parties. To support this priority at the community level, Attachment Coordinators will support patients and doctors through the Health Connect Registry (HCR) to ensure there is a good "match”. Should either a physician or patient decide that the attachment fit isn’t right, the Attachment Coordinator will return the patient to the HCR to find a better match.

In summary:

• No doctors will be forced to increase their panel size.
• No doctors will be forced to take on new patients.
• The final decision on whether a new patient is a good match is left with the physician and the patient.

A wide range of resources are available to assist you in using the PAS including user guides, videos, training sessions, and office hours.

The PAS is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. To fully support you with the PAS, the Ministry of Health has produced a range of training materials and supports that are now available:

• Quick Start User Guides (12 Guides at 2-4 minutes reading time each): These user guides are accessible through the PAS Knowledge Base. Easy to read and quick to access, the User Guides will get you up and running on the PAS.
• Short, Topic-Focused Videos (< 2 minutes): These videos are accessible through the PAS Knowledge Base. Designed to reinforce key steps covered in the User Guides, these bite-sized videos offer quick reminders for various PAS functions.

For additional information or support on the PAS, contact PHSA:

Email: HealthBcSupport@phsa.ca
Zoom (link for app/browser and phone/dial in option):
https://zoom.us/j/93003034945?pwd=L3lkL0VqdEJvTjZ2cWMxelB3R3ppdz09
Dial: 1 778 907-2071
Meeting ID: 930 0303 4945
Passcode: 548989

Other phone numbers:

1 778 907-2071 Canada
1 204 272-7920 Canada
1 438 809-7799 Canada
1 587 328-1099 Canada
1 647 374-4685 Canada
1 647 558-0588 Canada

The Command Centre is open Monday-Friday 9am-7pm, excluding stat holidays.

• A detailed overview of the PAS can be found in a newsletter sent to members in early September 2023. Additional details can be found in this newsletter sent on September 25, 2023.
• Check out our webinar recorded on September 14, 2023, which provides an overview on the PAS. A November 16, 2023 webinar for physicians includes practical information and demonstrations on using PAS and submitting panel lists.
• The Ministry of Health has a webinar recorded on June 5, 2024 to support MOAs in accessing and using the PAS.