The provincial government said Monday a full-time family doctor would be paid about $385,000 a year, up from the current $250,000, under a tentative three-year Physician Master Agreement reached with Doctors of BC last week.
"It is a model unique in Canada bringing together the best of a range of payment models. It addresses rising business costs, it recognizes the value physicians provide when delivering longitudinal care and it will compensate us for the time spent on evening and weekend administrative burdens," she said.
The plan will cost the B.C. government $708 million over three years, representing overall increases to the total base budget between three and 5.5 per cent each year. The agreement would be accompanied with a new"roster" system, to be introduced by mid-2023, where those looking for a family doctor can register to be linked with practices in their community instead of searching one out themselves, an official said Monday.
The roster system will give the government better information about who has care and who needs it, he said.