October 10, 2023

Last week for panel uploads using EMRs

Doctors of BC and BC Family Doctors continue to work with the Ministry of Health to improve, expand, and develop tools and supports for the Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) Payment Model. We continue to listen to your feedback, meeting regularly with the provincial government to address concerns. To submit questions or provide feedback, please email LFP.Billing@doctorsofbc.ca.

Today we are providing updates on:

Panel uploads using EMRs to be completed this week
Timelines for Provincial Attachment System
Key dates – At a glance
Information on panel payment adjustments
Expansion of the LFP Payment Model

Only three days left to upload panels using EMRs

As you know, physicians billing under the LFP Payment Model must submit a list of empanelled patients to MSP Teleplan by October 31, or within three months of enrollment, whichever is later.

Those using EMRs have only a few days left until Friday, October 13 to upload their panels. After this date, panels must be submitted by using the third-party service provider, Dr.Bill. The service is available at no cost to physicians. You may also use Dr.Bill if you don’t want to use one of the designated EMRs (MedAccess, Profile, Accuro, and MOIS). These EMRs currently have the bulk claiming functionality required to do this work.

If you have not yet scheduled a date to submit panel information using your EMR, you may register here. Then, submit your panel on your selected date, up until October 13. There will be different instructions on how to upload information based on the type of EMR you use. Please include your Facility Code on each claim when submitting your panel information.

We are pleased to report that the majority of those who are able to upload directly from EMRs, have done so. We want to thank those who have submitted their panels, and appreciate those who are working hard to meet the deadline. For everyone else, panel uploads must be completed using Dr.Bill by the end of the month.

What you need to know if you are using Dr.Bill

Dr.Bill has worked closely with Doctors of BC and MSP Teleplan to create a secure patient panel submission service that will be available to all family doctors with no cost. To submit your panel through Dr.Bill, visit its submission webpage. On this page you will also find instructions for how to submit your patient panel. Helpful templates and training materials for preparing your extract for upload can also be found on the Health Technology Resources webpage.

If you have more than one facility number, please contact HealthBcSupport@phsa.ca before signing up for Dr.Bill. They will provide you with additional details to ensure accurate panel uploads.

Physicians must submit their panel information using Dr.Bill by October 31. Detailed information and supports for panel clean up and uploading panel lists can be found on the Doctors of BC LFP Payment Model web page.

Training sessions and supports for Oscar EMR users submitting through Dr.Bill

You must use Dr.Bill if you use an Oscar EMR. The Doctors Technology Office (DTO) and Practice Support Program (PSP) are hosting two upcoming drop-in sessions for Oscar EMR users to support in panel submissions through Dr.Bill.

To register, click the links below:

During these sessions, we will have staff present to provide brief demos and to answer questions relating to:

Oscar LFP Panel Report RBT - (Report by Template) which is to be uploaded into your Oscar EMR to export your patient list (LFP Panel Report).
Dr.Bill Spreadsheet Formatting Guide - The columns in your spreadsheet must meet specific formatting criteria for upload to Dr.Bill.

Please review these resources prior to the session and come with your questions.

To support you in preparing your accurate and up-to-date list of empanelled patients through your EMRs, self-serve guides and resources can also be found on our Doctors Technology Office Health Technology Resources page (within the ‘LFP Payment Model EMR Resources’ tab).

Physician Attachment System (PAS) – Key dates

The PAS is made up of two components for physicians: the Clinic and Provider Registry and the Panel Registry.

A reminder that Medical Directors or designated staff from all clinics providing longitudinal care under LFP Payment Model, fee-for-service, or alternate payment models must confirm the information in the Clinic and Provider Registry by October 31 to receive the $2,000 payment. This registry is a component of the PAS.

Earlier, we mentioned that we are doing very well with the number of panel uploads using EMRs. We now encourage physicians billing under the LFP model to complete the Panel Registry component of the Physician Attachment System as soon as possible. You will be asked to identify whether you are accepting new patients and if so, how many. The information provided through the two PAS registries and detailed panel information will be critical to provide a complete picture of primary care capacity in the province, better enabling all of us to work together to better meet the needs of patients. A reminder that there is a $6500 payment for completing all stages of this process.

Information on registration, participation, and payment can be found on the Doctors of BC PAS webpage. The page also contains a recorded webinar, and information on training and supports. If you are interested in participating in one-hour virtual instructor led-training sessions Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays before and after clinic hours, click here(link is external).

Contact the Live Technical Support Team*:

*Note that training and in-office supports offered by the PHSA are not available on statutory holidays

Key dates: At-a-glance summary

October 11 and 12 – Online training sessions for Oscar EMR users submitting panel lists with Dr.Bill
October 13 – Date by which physicians using EMRs must upload their panel lists. After this date, physicians must use Dr.Bill to upload panel information.
October 31 – Date by which all physicians who enrolled in the LFP Payment Model on or before July 31, 2023 must submit their panel lists. Physicians who enrolled after July 31, 2023 have up to three months from the date of their enrollment to upload their list of empanelled patients.
October 31 – Date by which Medical Directors or their designates in all clinics providing longitudinal family practice services must confirm information in the Clinic and Provider Registry in order to receive the $2,000 payment. This registry is a component of the PAS.
As soon as possible – Physicians enrolled in the LFP Payment Model are encouraged to register and provide information into the Panel Registry, a component of the PAS.

Panel payment adjustments

LFP physicians received their quarter one and quarter two LFP Panel Payments on August 31, 2023. Recently we learned that some family physicians – particularly those who previously worked on alternative payment (AP) contracts before joining the LFP payment model – received panel payments that did not accurately reflect their panel size. BC Family Doctors, Doctors of BC, and the Ministry of Health immediately investigated and determined that some MSP billing records were not included in the data used for some of the panel payment calculations for quarters one and two.

BC Family Doctors, Doctors of BC, and the Ministry of Health are working swiftly to correct it and ensure that physicians receive accurate panel payments. Each LFP physician will receive an individual email by October 31 letting them know whether any adjustments will be made to their LFP Panel Payment.

Physicians who were underpaid as a result of the error will receive a positive payment adjustment via MSP Teleplan by October 31, 2023. The positive payment adjustment will be paid to the same MSP payee number that the physician received their panel payment. Physicians who were overpaid will receive a negative adjustment to their quarter 3 LFP panel payment by November 30, 2023. This year, panel payments are calculated with an interim methodology using Majority Source of Care (MSOC) to estimate the size of a family physician’s panel based on past MSP billing records. BC Family Doctors, Doctors of BC, and the provincial government are working to transition the panel payment to be based on the family physician’s panel data uploaded into the Provincial Attachment System’s Panel Registry.

LFP Payment Model expansion

As noted in a previous newsletter, Doctors of BC, BC Family Doctors, and the Ministry of Health continue to work toward expanding the LFP Payment Model. The current phase of deliberations is focused on facility-based care for inpatient, maternity, palliative, and long-term care.

The anticipated timeline is as follows:

Fall 2023 – Conclude discussions and announce approach to expansion.
Early 2024 – Implementation to take place as soon as soon as possible in the new year.

Watch for more detailed information about the timeline in the coming weeks. Future expansion to be considered will include emergency medicine care provided by longitudinal family physicians, and ongoing discussions are underway to adapt the model to meet the needs of rural communities and physicians. As this is a transitional year, we look forward to implementing a more cohesive approach that will bring the long-term benefits of the new payment model to family physicians providing patient care in our facilities.

Need more information?

Write us

Email: LFP.Billing@doctorsofbc.ca

View our information online (member login required)

Doctors of BC: doctorsofbc.ca/new-payment-model
BC Family Doctors: bcfamilydocs.ca/a-new-choice-for-compensation
BC Government website: gov.bc.ca/MSP/LFP (login not required)