Sadly, nothing has changed since this was posted 3+ mos ago. AB Health is still paying us drastically less for virtual visits than in-person, even though we still need to do a lot of virtual care to minimize risk of COVID spread.
Our clinics still pay rent, staff...1/
Our clinics still pay rent, staff...1/
https://twitter.com/EZMSA2/status/1358827263391723521
...wages, utilities etc. to remain functional, so using fewer tongue depressors and less exam table paper doesn't decrease our overhead costs to an appreciable degree just b/c we're interacting w/ patients by phone.
For some family docs, this means they're working as hard...2/
For some family docs, this means they're working as hard...2/
...as ever (in some cases harder), but only earning enough gross income to cover overhead expenses, w/ none left for personal income (i.e. to cover even basic living expenses, not talking about disposable income). Those docs are basically volunteering their time to work...3/
...full-time providing your medical care, b/c the UCP refuse to pay a reasonable amount for virtual visits. For context, a virtual visit lasting 11min to infinity pays (gross, not net income) $38 in AB and $65 in Ontario.
For virtual care in AB, we can't bill for time...4/
For virtual care in AB, we can't bill for time...4/
...spent after hanging up the phone either, such as finishing the note in a patient's chart, writing a referral letter to a specialist, filling out an ultrasound requisition, etc. When patients are seen in person, we can bill for all the time spent on their care that...5/
...calendar day, including paperwork after the patient leaves the clinic. And the modifier codes that apply to in-person visits but not virtual ones mean we can bill (again gross, not net) $18.48 for each 10min increment after 15min.
Some family med clinics in urban areas...6/
Some family med clinics in urban areas...6/
...have operating costs of $700+ per doc per day. To cover that requires "seeing" (virtual visit) 18.4 patients for whom the phone call lasts 11 or more minutes (not counting the time spent on paperwork after hanging up, which can sometimes take the same amount of time...7/
...again), or 35 patients for whom the phone call lasts 10min or less (again not counting the time spent afterwards on charting, etc). That's just to cover overhead costs for the day, before earning any money to take home. And keep in mind that the UCP implemented a cap,...8/
...meaning docs can only bill for 50 "V codes" per day, which includes visits, calls from Home Care staff, etc. Between 51 and 65 V codes, the doc will only be paid 50%, and beyond 65, they get paid nothing.
This situation is one of the reasons we're losing docs to other...9/
This situation is one of the reasons we're losing docs to other...9/
...provinces, b/c it's not sustainable for docs to work full-time and only be able to cover overhead costs from the gross income, then go further into debt each month to pay their mortgage and buy groceries. They could be in the same financial position, with less stress, by...10/
...staying home and not working at all. Or, they could relocate to another province and earn some take-home pay for putting in full-time hours, which some are choosing to do.
As a rural doc, I'm fortunate to have income from my hospital work as well. Which means I often...11/
As a rural doc, I'm fortunate to have income from my hospital work as well. Which means I often...11/
...work 10-14hr days, but at least the UCP hasn't cut the billing codes for rural hospitals as badly. So my personal income, after overhead expenses, was "only" down about 70% in the past year, not down 100% like some of my urban colleagues. There are ppl who repeat the UCP...12/
...lines like "be glad you still have a job, lots of ppl have lost theirs." Which is true, and my heart aches for those who are unemployed and struggling, who are more numerous than ever as a result of COVID. But it's not an apples to apples comparison. I'm putting in 60+hr...13/
...work weeks, while my profession is attacked and smeared by the UCP, and making 30% as much income as I was a few years ago for the same (or slightly less) work. I'm not eligible for EI if the clinic goes bankrupt and closes, and because Healthcare is funded by public...14/
...money (our tax dollars), the UCP have decided that physicians are not eligible for many of the grants and other COVID-related financial supports that other small businesses can apply for to help them stay in business.
So when the UCP claim that docs in AB are among the...15/
So when the UCP claim that docs in AB are among the...15/
...highest-paid in the country, and that we're being paid the same for virtual care as for in-person care, please stand up and call them on their BS. For some ABns, ongoing access to their family docs may depend on this.
#AbLeg #FiretheUCP #COVID19AB #ABdocs4patients
#AbLeg #FiretheUCP #COVID19AB #ABdocs4patients
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