Riverview, NB Doctor says clinic pay structure is not financially viable – New Brunswick | Globalnews.ca

Riverview family doctor Brian Davidson was forced to permanently close his after-hours clinic in May for financial reasons.

He said on Thursday, “The pandemic we had, the number of patients we were seeing went down, there was no improvement in our expenses and paying for (support) staff would usually involve paying a premium. is,” he said on Thursday.

In New Brunswick, like Davidson, most family doctors are paid per service.

For one-time visits that typically occur at an after-hours clinic, they are paid $29.40 per patient, compared to the $47.74 they are paid for more extensive visits that typically occur to the doctor. happens in regular practice.

Davidson says in the midst of inflationary and pandemic challenges, that’s not enough.

“Our operating budget was at a point that we actually had a few checks to bounce employees because of various different things. When you get to that point, you’re able to keep up with different things. Doesn’t happen,” he said.

He explained that staffing was also a challenge, partly because of the low pay for post-clinic work doctors were looking for elsewhere.

“So now you had gaps in your schedule where no one is working, you can’t make any money and expenses don’t go down.”

In a statement sent Friday to Global News, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health explained that in order to pay the higher rate, doctors need to meet the requirements of an extensive office visit, including follow-up care and patient care charts. Updating is included. ,

This fee structure also applies to physicians at eVisit NB, an online service where New Brunswickers can virtually consult with a nurse practitioner or doctor.

Pay rates are negotiated between Medicare and the New Brunswick Medical Society.

The Medical Society’s chief executive, Anthony Knight, said in an interview Friday that he believes there are a number of factors that contribute to the reduced or closing hours of after-hours clinics.

“Moncton has the most walk-in clinics in New Brunswick. When you compare Fredericton, there are two. When you look at Moncton, there are 20. That’s a high proportion of after-hours clinics.” ,” he said in an interview on Friday.

While he recognizes the demand for after-hours clinics, he said efforts to recruit physicians are focused more on creating sustainable practices.

“Ideally in the event of a new physician entering the practice, we want to encourage them to establish a complete community-based practice and become a stable access point for 1,000,1,200 patients.”

He added that overall, the system is in a “very tense state” and it would be difficult to ask doctors to do more than before.

“I think there is pressure on physicians to provide more,” he said.

“Levels of burnout, exhaustion, frustration with the system are at an all-time high and we are deeply concerned about the well-being of physicians in our province.”