Pay-per-use family practice to open in Vancouver

In what is a first for B.C and possibly for Canada, a private pay-for-use family practice is set to open in Vancouver next month.

Dr. Lauren Fineman will open her practice in May in conjunction with the privately operated False Creek Urgent Care Centre in Vancouver. The clinic will start with just one physician, and the Australian-trained doctor won't bill the province's Medical Services Plan.

The False Creek Centre has attracted considerable government and media attention for offering certain fee-based medical procedures normally covered by B.C.'s public medical system, including MRIs, certain kinds of elective surgery, and emergency care. Some medically necessary procedures done at the facility are covered by the Medical Services Plan.

Owner Mark Godley says there aren't enough family doctors in the region and he believes some people will be willing to pay out of their own pockets to get continuity of care.

"Many patients that come to us don't have family doctors and are simply orphaned in the community. So by adding the family practice we are adding that continuum of care," said Godley.

The president of the Society of General Practitioners of B.C., Dr. Brian Norton, believes it is legal, but he's curious to see whether people will pay for a family doctor's visit the same way they're willing to pay for other medical services with long wait lists, such as MRIs.  

"I think that's why access to MRIs and some specialist consultations possibly are viable, because the waiting times can be quite long. But for general practice, I wouldn't have thought it was bad enough at this time to have to do that, certainly not in the urban areas," said Norton.

About 200,000 people in B.C. don't have a family doctor because of a shortage of physicians.

B.C. Minister of Health George Abbot told CBC News his ministry will be monitoring the new family practice.