August 30, 2023

doctorsofbc.ca    @DoctorsOfBC

Provincial Attachment System – What you need to know

On September 14, 2023, Doctors of BC will host a webinar focusing on the new Provincial Attachment System (PAS), and what it will mean for BC’s doctors and patients. Announced by the provincial government and Doctors of BC earlier this year, PAS will help connect unattached patients with family physicians and nurse practitioners who are building their practice, or accepting new patients. This will include family physicians on Fee-for-Service and other payment models, and those compensated through the new Longitudinal Family Physician Payment Model (login required).

In the coming weeks, as we move toward the webinar date, we will be sharing information in a series of PAS-focused newsletters. This edition starts us off with an overview of PAS including: 

• Why it is being introduced
• What problems we are trying to solve
• General outline of how it will work

PAS – Why it is being introduced

Over the last year, we have made some significant changes to strengthen family medicine in BC, including—but not limited to—the the introduction of the LFP Payment Model. It is all part of our collective and ongoing efforts to tackle system problems that have resulted in too many patients without a family doctor.

We now need to take another important step to better co-ordinate attachment of patients with family doctors who have capacity to expand their panels, and to understand capacity in the system and measure our progress. We want to make it easier for patients who don’t have a family doctor to connect to one, for doctors to bring new patients into their practices, and for communities and the wider system to better understand capacity to more effectively plan for the future. 

It is about creating a connected system of care for everyone.

The need for change

Here are some of the current challenges we need to address:

• Patients face the uncertainty of not knowing how to become attached to a physician, and often go it alone trying to find the services they need.
• Physicians and clinic staff are inundated daily with telephone calls and e-mails from desperate unattached patients.  
• There is inequity in the availability of attachment programs in different communities in the province. Each community has different attachment mechanisms, with inconsistent and different levels of support for patients and providers. Some communities have no attachment programs at all.
• There is no way of knowing which providers and clinics can accept new patients.
• We don’t have a way to understand capacity in the system, and to measure progress made in attaching patients to family doctors. 

How it will work

The Provincial Attachment System is made up of two streams.

For patients: 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.

For community longitudinal care providers, there will two registries:

Panel Registry: When the system launches, family physicians providing longitudinal care will be asked to log in to this registry to verify their clinic information, and identify if they are able to take on new patients. Physicians will also be asked to submit patient panel information to Teleplan, which will then populate this into the panel registry.   

Clinic and Provider Registry: Medical directors will log in to this registry to provide basic information about their clinics, including address, operating hours, and physician and clinical staff. To minimize administrative burdens, the registry will be pre-populated with information collected during the clinic stabilization payment process. Information gathered will help to understand the current medical care provided in a community and to identify care gaps to support future planning.

Physicians and medical directors will receive payment to compensate them for the time required to contribute to this work. More detailed information on these registries and compensation will be available soon.

Supporting patient and physician choice

Trust and rapport 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 provide assistance to connect patients and doctors through the Health Connect Registry 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. 

Upcoming communications 

• A detailed timeline 
• The mechanics of the system – what physicians will be asked to do
• Training, support, and incentives

Upcoming key dates

September 14 – Doctors of BC webinar on PAS. Topics will include: 

• An overview of PAS
• The role family physicians will play
• Details on how it will benefit you and your practice
• How you will be supported to participate
• What you can expect in the coming weeks
• An opportunity to ask questions

September 20 – PAS is launched and physicians can start to register.

Visit the webinar registration page to sign up. 

Contact: Communications & Public Affairs
Doctors of BC, 115-1665 West Broadway Vancouver, BC V6J 5A4

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