Grant announced by GPSC to offset costs of recruiting into team-based care practices

Last updated: May 13, 2021

A new Team-Based Care Grant will provide $15,000 to eligible family practices that have onboarded interprofessional team (IPT) members. It is the latest step GPSC is taking to support the growth of team-based care practices.  The grant will help to address the costs of recruiting and onboarding into a practice, which physicians have identified as a barrier to creating team-based care practices. This grant is just one of the resources provided by the committee to help break down barriers and provides supports for practices to implement team-based care. An FAQ for this grant is available.

How does the grant work?

This grant provides a lump sum payment of $15,000 for each FTE (full-time equivalent) of net new eligible IPT positions filled by the family practice applying for the grant. An eligible IPT position may be filled by a staff member employed by the family practice or another organization, such as a health authority. Eligible family practices may apply for the grant for net new eligible IPT positions filled on or after April 1, 2019. An end date has not yet been established for this grant. The GPSC will continue to evaluate the impact of the TBC Grant as it considers funding opportunities in the future.

What are the grant requirements?

A minimum of 0.2 FTE of IPT position is required to apply for this grant. To claim this grant, a group of family doctors must submit an application form together after an IPT position has been filled. Doctors and clinic owners may come to an agreement on how the funding is distributed between each party.

The grant is paid to eligible family practices in three equal installments:

1. The first installment is paid to the group practice after team member(s) have been hired to fill the eligible net new IPT positions.
2. A second installment is paid after six months if the eligible IPT position is sustained.
3. A third installment is paid after 12 months if the eligible IPT position is sustained.

The total payment amount of all installments is based on the expected FTE hours of eligible net new IPT position filled.

What does the grant cover?

Here are some examples of what family doctors can do with the Team-Based Care Grant:

• Cover the cost of setting up and upgrading EMR software and licensing and office hardware (e.g. phone/fax/computer) to enable interprofessional care.
• Compensate physicians or clinic staff for time spent:
  • Reviewing and implementing changes to office capacity to accommodate new IPT members.
  • Recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding new IPT members. If applicable, recruiting may be conducted in conjunction with health authority or other stakeholders (e.g. division or primary care network).
  • Reviewing medico-legal requirements relevant for particular IPT members.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for the Team-Based Care Grant, family doctors of the group practice applying for the grant must:

• Work within a group practice consisting of two or more physicians that has added an eligible IPT member to the group practice. The physicians working together in a group practice may or may not be co-located and may have an arrangement to jointly fund an IPT position.
• Meet the definition of a Community Longitudinal Family Physician as per the GPSC preamble.
• Have completed phase two of the GPSC phases of panel management.
• Commit to participating in quality improvement activities related to team-based care such as services offered through the GPSC Practice Support Program, including team-based care coaches. Quality improvement activities should be aligned with the National Interprofessional Competencies Framework.
• Agree to work collaboratively with the Ministry of Health, the primary care network (PCN) (if applicable), and other partners (e.g. division of family practice, health authority) towards implementing the attributes of the patient medical home (PMH) and PCN.

To claim this grant, a group of family doctors must jointly submit an application form after an IPT position has been filled. For more details about the Team-Based Care Grant, please see the FAQ.

Are there other team-based care supports?

The GPSC supports the implementation of team based care by providing:

• Tools for EMR training for allied care professionals.
• Team-based care readiness assessment for teams embarking upon team-based care. Email tbc@doctorsofbc.ca to learn more.
• Billing education webinars which provide up-to-date information, relevant advice, and real-time discussion.
• In-practice coaching through the Practice Support Program including team-based care coaches, learning opportunities, and quality improvement tools in the PMH Assessment.
• The Minor Tenant Improvements Grant, which provides financial support for family practices in PCN communities to undertake minor tenant improvements and encourage implementation of team-based care.