 |
||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Change to 50 per-cent billing policy Joan Marie Aylward, Minister of Health, announced today that an exemption will be made to the 50 per cent billing limitation policy for physicians in the St. John's Region. The exemption will only apply to the Portugal Cove - St. Philips area and to Torbay and the surrounding communities serviced by Torbay physicians. Ms. Aylward said that since she was appointed Minister of Health in May 1997, she has received a number of representations from the Portugal Cove - St. Philips area, and more recently from the Torbay area, for approval to recruit physicians to serve those areas. She has indicated to residents that this issue was one she was concerned with and willing to address if possible. The 50 per-cent billing policy currently being implemented by MCP has considered these communities to be part of the St. John's Region, an area considered to have an excess number of physicians. "This has caused people living in these communities to express concerns about not being able to access physician services in their areas as they have in past years," said the minister. She added that the Department of Health has recently received representations from people in the Torbay area that community wishes to recruit medical staff to the previous physician complement. The Department of Health is very interested in the development of alternate approaches to physician resource management, in other words the number of doctors necessary to provide the needed services. The minister said she would carefully consider alternate approaches to physician resource management but indicated that, in the interim, she would also permit an exemption to the billing policy to allow these communities the opportunity to recruit physicians. The minister said she has heard and understood the wishes of the people in these areas to recruit physicians and to maintain services that have been in place over the years. She said she is hopeful this measure will help address those needs. Contact: Glenn Bruce, Director of Communications, (709) 729-1377.
|
