The Provincial Government has launched two new programs to support physicians in the province and help improve access to primary health care.
The New Family Physician Income Guarantee initiative is designed to attract and retain new, qualified family physicians to provide primary health care services in Newfoundland and Labrador by providing funding to help alleviate the financial burden of opening or taking over an existing family practice.
The program guarantees a minimum income equivalent to that of a salaried family physician to new family doctors who bill on a fee for service basis and open a family practice clinic – or join an established clinic – for the first two years of their practice. This will ease some of the uncertainty associated with the business aspects of opening a clinic by increasing financial certainty. Funding recipients will be required to enter into a two-year return-in-service (RIS) agreement with government.
The Family Practice Start-Up Program will provide $100,000 to new family practice physicians who open a family practice clinic, or join an existing family practice in the community, and stay in the practice for five years. Recipients who are approved for both programs must sign a five-year RIS agreement with government. Additionally, both programs will be linked to establishing a patient roster in the community, as well as the provision of after-hours care.
Application forms for these programs can be found here. Applicants are encouraged to apply by April 15, 2022. Additional information, including eligibility requirements, is available here.
This program delivers on another commitment made by the Provincial Government in October 2021 regarding a number of immediate and interim steps to improve access to primary health care in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as help attract and retain health care professionals. Recently, another commitment was honoured through the opening of two new Collaborative Team Clinics in the metro area. The clinics, one at Mundy Pond Road and the other on Topsail Road in Mount Pearl, are in addition to a clinic which opened on Pippy Place in St. John’s in 2020.
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“We remain committed to increasing access to primary health care in our province, and this program is another deliverable in the suite of measures we announced last fall. We will continue to work with our stakeholders in our efforts to both attract and retain health care professionals, as we focus on improved health outcomes for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”
Honourable John Haggie
Minister of Health and Community Services
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