Physician Remuneration
Fee-for-service (FFS) has been the dominant payment system for physicians in Canada for years. Recently governments and private payers have sought new ways to reimburse doctors so as to meet two fundamental goals: cost control and best quality care for every dollar spent. As a result, there are a growing number of new payment models available to Canadian physicians. Unfortunately, these models are generally not as simple as the conventional FFS system. In nearly all cases, payment is made up of a blend of some or all of:
- Fees for patient encounters
- Population or capitation funding
- Hourly, daily or other time unit rates for service or standby availability
- Bonuses for participating in specific clinical activities
- Rewards for achieving thresholds for prevention or quality targets
- Financial support for teaching
- Funding for research
- Administrative stipends
- Subsidies for facilities, equipment, staff or allied health professionals
These new payment models are much more complex than traditional FFS compensation, and doctors must invest considerable amounts of time to understand the offers and evaluate what is desirable in their individual practice situation.
To learn about these different payment models, please refer to the following resources:
www.cma.ca
- Enter your username and password to log onto the website
- From the menu on the top of the screen, choose the “Practice Management” link
- Scroll down to the section titled “Resources” and choose the “Self Learning Modules” link
There you will have access to very detailed modules about alternative payment models to fee for service, primary care reform and effective practice management
www.oma.org
- Enter your username and password to log onto the website
- From the menu on the left side of the page, locate the heading “Legal Services” and choose the link titled “Primary Care Models”
There you will have access to very detailed descriptions of all the different remuneration models available to Canadian physicians