Community Longitudinal Family Physician Payment

Last updated: November 24, 2022

The CLFP payment values relational continuity – trusting, therapeutic relationships developed over time between a patient and family physician (and their team), in which the patient sees this family physician the majority of time.

2022 CLFP payment

The deadline for claiming the 2022 CLFP payment was September 30, 2022. Payments to eligible physicians were delivered in October.

If you have questions about the CLFP payment, please contact gpsc.billing@doctorsofbc.ca

The CLFP payment recognizes that developing relational continuity entails additional indirect patient care activities, for which doctors are not compensated, like maintaining medical records, coordinating referrals, reviewing test results, and more.

Since 2019, FPSC has provided the CLFP payment to recognize family physicians who work under fee-for-service and provide long-term, relationship-based care for a panel of patients.

While the CLFP payment is an ongoing annual payment, the 2022 payment included an additional top-up made available by FPSC to further enhance financial supports for longitudinal family physicians, and to extend eligibility for a modified 2022 CLFP payment to family doctors providing longitudinal care to a panel of patients, working under select alternative payment models who pay overhead. Payment amounts for eligible family doctors under an alternative payment model varied according to the type and terms of their model/contract. 

The eligibility requirements are detailed in the CLFP FAQ.

FPSC emailed eligible physicians links to the online claim forms in September 2022. There are six categories of CLFP funding, and physicians received personalized emails according to their eligibility. The deadline for submitting online claims was September 30, 2022.  Payments were delivered to eligible physicians in October 2022.

The CLFP payment may be subject to business arrangements pertaining to how MSP payments are split between physicians and clinic owners. In these cases, physicians and clinic owners are encouraged to come to a mutual agreement on how existing business arrangements apply to the CLFP payment.

For more information:

Family physicians who bill fee-for-service

Fee-for-service, community-based family physicians are eligible for the 2022 CLFP Payment if they meet the following conditions:

  • Meet the requirements for and submit the CLFP Portal Code (14070) by the MSP cut-off date of July 5, 2022.
  • Provided Majority of Source Care (MSOC) for 50 or more patients, based on fee-for-service visits in 2021.

Family physicians who meet the requirements of the CLFP Portal Code (14070) should submit 14070 on an annual basis to ensure they are considered for future CLFP Payments. The submission of 14070 signifies that a physician is:

  • A community longitudinal family physician (as defined in the FPSC Preamble), with an office from which they provide in-person medical services to a known panel of patients.
  • The most responsible provider (MRP) of continuous, comprehensive, coordinated family practice services for the majority of a patient’s longitudinal primary medical care for the duration of that calendar year.
  • Confirming doctor-patient relationships with existing patients through a standardized conversation or “family physician-patient compact.”
  • Able to produce a list of active patients for whom they are the MRP.

Family physicians are encouraged to post the family physician–patient compact in their examination rooms and to have conversations with patients to confirm physician-patient relationships. For suggested approaches for enhancing relational continuity between family physicians (and their teams) and patients, read the Relational Continuity clinical practice guideline (PDF).

Read details on CLFP Payment Methodology FAQs for fee-for-service, community-based family physicians.

Family physicians who are under an alternate payment/funding model

Currently, family physicians who primarily provide community longitudinal family physician (CLFP) services under an alternative payment/funding model may receive a CLFP payment as a component of their contract or model. In 2022, the FPSC increased its CLFP budget to provide an additional CLFP top-up amount to further support community longitudinal family physicians. Family physicians working under an alternative payment/funding model and contribute to clinic overhead costs may be eligible to receive this CLFP top-up amount. To be eligible, family physicians under an alternative payment model must:

  • Practice as a community longitudinal family physician (as defined in the FPSC Preamble), with an office from which they provide in-person medical services to a known panel of patients; and
  • Be responsible for contributing to overhead costs (e.g. lease, Medical Office Assistant and EMR) under an alternative payment model and not receive payment specifically for overhead (e.g. New to Practice Incentives Program overhead payment); and
  • Be working under a Group Contract for Practicing Full Service Family Physicians, 200 GP contract, blended-capitation models, or Alternative Payments Subsidiary Agreement Service Contract consistent with the Alternative Payment Subsidiary Agreement (e.g. GP Full-scope practice category); and,
  • Not receive an equivalent payment as part of their current contract

Family physicians who transitioned from fee-for-service to an alternative payment/funding model in 2022 and do not contribute to overhead costs may be eligible for a 2022 CLFP Payment amount prorated by the number of days for which the family physician provided CLFP services under fee-for-service in 2022.

If you are unsure about whether you are eligible for the 2022 CLFP Payment, please contact gpsc.billing@doctorsofbc.ca.

New-to-practice family physicians

New-to-practice family physicians who are not eligible for the 2022 CLFP Payment based on the eligibility criteria above may be eligible for a modified 2022 CLFP Payment.

To be eligible, new-to-practice family physicians must:

  • Meet the requirements for and submit the CLFP Portal Code (14070) in 2022.
  • Not have qualified for any CLFP Payments in previous years (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).
  • Have begun practicing as a community longitudinal family physician in BC prior to August 1, 2022.

Eligible family physicians will receive an email from FPSC in September 2022 with instructions on how to claim their payment. Physicians receiving the new-to-practice CLFP Payment will no longer be eligible for future new-to-practice CLFP Payments in subsequent years (but may be eligible for regular CLFP Payments).

If you have any questions, please contact gpsc.billing@doctorsofbc.ca.