RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Payment model impact on the resilience of rural communities
JF Canadian Family Physician
JO Can Fam Physician
FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada
SP 719
OP 724
DO 10.46747/cfp.701112719
VO 70
IS 11-12
A1 Barbour, Luke
A1 Venkataraman, Maya
A1 Bland, Alexandra
A1 de Waal, Anna
A1 Fischer, Jordie
A1 Hari, Kishore
A1 Grzybowski, Stefan
YR 2024
UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/70/11-12/719.abstract
AB Objective To explore rural physician perspectives on how remuneration impacted their experiences of contributing to community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design Exploratory, qualitative subanalysis.Setting Twenty-two rural communities in 4 Canadian provinces.Participants Family physicians, other health care professionals, and patients in rural communities in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.Methods Semistructured, virtual interviews conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 were included in the subanalysis. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically.Main findings Participants expressed working under an alternative payment plan (APP) model facilitated greater engagement in their communities and said they were generally fairly compensated for nonclinical duties. Increased time allotted to each patient re-centred care priorities to meet the long-term needs of the community. Finally, APP physicians stated their systems of care supported their own wellness throughout the pandemic.Conclusion Findings suggest physicians working in an APP model felt they had increased ability to engage with the community and contribute to its resilience. The flexibility of APPs may allow for more physician involvement in community sustainability that is not directly related to patient care.