On November 16, 2020, the Ministry of Health announced additional one-time funds to support the COVID-19 health sector plan for fall/winter 2020/2021. This funding is for active physician planning through Health Authorities (HAs), Medical Staff Associations (MSAs), or Divisions of Family Practice (DOFP).
Physicians will be compensated for active planning performed between October 19, 2020 and March 31, 2021 at the relevant committee sessional rate to a maximum of 20 hours in total, provided the following criteria are met:
- Meetings must be about service delivery planning, re-design, and implementation related to provision of patient care at a community, facility, regional and/or provincial level in response to COVID-19.
- The planning work is extraordinary, and goes beyond usual department, DOFP or MSA meetings
- Planning for patient care in the outpatient physician office settings is not eligible.
- Physician was actively participating in meetings and planning work initiated through DOFPs, MSAs and HAs. Payment will not be provided for passive attendance at meetings.
Payments will be made to physicians through the DOFP or MSA which requested physician involvement. For planning work explicitly initiated by the health authorities outside of MSAs or DOFP, physicians will be compensated directly by the applicable health authority. This planning work would be initiated by Medical Directors, COOs, HSAs, Department Heads, or Chiefs of Staff.
Payment and Invoicing
IMPORTANT DATES
- MSA and Division of Family Practice (DOFP) invoices, with an accurate accounting of costs, must be submitted to Doctors of BC by April 30, 2021.
- For Northern Health, physicians must submit their hours to their respective medical director’s coordinator support by April 30, 2021.
Process for Submissions
- DOFP must download and submit this completed excel template, providing information on all invoices, with an accurate accounting of costs, to divisions@doctorsofbc.ca by April 30, 2021. The excel template must be confirmed with a signature from the DOFP physician leads.
- MSAs will submit the FEMS claim summary list from their “Fall/Winter 2020-21 COVID Planning” engagement activity to engagement@doctorsofbc.ca by April 30, 2021. The claim summary list must be confirmed by the MSA executives with a signature.
- For NH, physicians must submit planning hours to the medical director’s coordinator in their region.
| Region | |
|---|---|
| Northeast | Sandra.Wheeler@northernhealth.ca |
| Northwest | Chelsey.Howard@northernhealth.ca |
| Northern Interior | Wendy.Fox@northernhealth.ca |
| Prince George | Eliana.Clements@northernhealth.ca |
For additional information, see the full Ministry of Health memo and FAQ.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Northern Health: Jason Jaswal, Regional Director, Medical Affairs, jason.jaswal@northernhealth.ca
Medical Staff Association or Division of Family Practice questions should be directed to:
- Monicque Jacobs, Engagement Partner, North East and Northern Interior mjacobs@doctorsofbc.ca
- Holly Hovland, Engagement Partner, North West and Northern Interior hhovland@doctorsofbc.ca
- Erin Smith Friesen, Engagement Partner, Northern Interior esmithfriesen@doctorsofbc.ca