The program encourages doctors to accept patients in the provincial wait list (which stood at close to 44,000 in March) by offering them a one-time $150 bonus per patient. The province says family doctors took almost 900 new patients in the first month of the program. In total, 177 doctors have so far taken on 882 new patients. The program was part of $40 million in funding announced for family doctors, including $13.9 million for pay hikes. It’s still too early to say if the uptake will be consistent month-to-month. New physicians setting up a practice aren’t eligible and may also be drawing patients from the wait list. Doctors Nova Scotia says about 17% of physicians recently accepted new patients and that the rest are at capacity. They say the program is good but only part of the solution.
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