Dr. Laura Foster
Family Physician

Rostering to a Capitated System and Outside use of services

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. Every quarter, we receive a report from the ministry of our rostered patients who received the services of other general practitioner physicians (usually at walk-in clinics). Each time this happens, our office is billed by the Ministry, often in the range of $50-100. If we don’t keep these outside visits in check, it can add up to many thousands of dollars per year.

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We have made our office hours more convenient for you to get an appointment so outside walk in clinics are not required. ( NOTE: Visits to the physician specialists and visits to the ER are not included ). Of course, patients have the right to choose to go to a walk-in, but it’s likely many don’t realize the consequences of your visit to your family doctor

 

Doctors who believe that patients are going to walk-in clinics too often instead of calling them first can choose to de-roster that patient. Being de-rostered doesn’t mean being “fired”. They are not losing access to the doctor; it’s not the same as termination, but it would mean that a patient could no longer access other services given by your family doctor, such as prescription refills

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Most family doctors in Ontario now enroll patients onto a roster and then receive a lump annual sum for each patient. The system encourages doctors to offer full, continuous care to patients, rather than ask them to make separate appointments for each medical issue, the way they did in the old, fee-for-service model.

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