Vitalité president and CEO Dr. France Desrosiers said in a news release the new model is in response to the “pressing need” from patients and health professionals.
Some of the needs include more collaboration between care providers, increased patient follow- up, added administrative support, and reduced workload.
“With the population increasing and aging, it is crucial and urgent to strengthen the entry point to the health system and relieve the pressure on our hospitals and health workers,” Desrosiers said. “A team approach is the solution. We believe that we have developed a winning formula that will improve access to care for our patients and support family medicine in New Brunswick.”
The waiting list for New Brunswick patients without a family doctor has since been replaced by NB Health Link, which offers primary care services via a network of family doctors and nurse practitioners while those patients wait for a permanent provider.
The Department of Health has said over 52,000 people are now registered and eligible to book appointments with NB Health Link.
Residents now have access to doctors and nurse practitioners at NB Health Link clinics operating in all of the province’s seven health zones, department spokesperson Sean Hatchard said previously. According to the province, nearly 23,000 more people have been registered with NB Health Link, but are currently waiting for additional clinics to open or for existing clinics to expand.
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Efforts are ongoing to contact the roughly 10,000 people who are not yet registered with NB Health Link, the health department has said.
Both Horizon and Vitalité health networks have shared details of their primary care plans, which include a transition to a new “patient medical home” model.
Vitalité said its new model was introduced in 2023, and it is “being rolled out quickly.” So far, there are six family health teams in operation, involving 33 physicians and 8 nurse practitioners, with 22 groups currently under development.
The model is based on every patient being cared for by a team made up of various professionals rather than a single physician.
Each team is connected to their own referral group responsible for guiding patients to the right service provider. Administrative support is provided to free up the health professionals so they can focus on delivering care.
A new referral centre is operational for the Edmundston region, which is being supported by a new urgent care centre for minor and urgent cases.
Vitalité said it now has a medical director dedicated to the project and has created new manager positions.
Some tasks typically performed by doctors, such as pap tests, newborn follow-ups, or ear washing, can be delegated to other health professionals based on a patient’s needs.
“The form the model takes can vary from one region to another because how each group operates is tailored to the specific needs and realities of their community,” said Vitalité in the release.
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The health authority said the approach facilitates access in five days and better follow-up of chronic illnesses through electronic record sharing between the team members. The goal is to expand coverage to a greater number of orphan patients.
Once the primary care provider groups have been created, the second phase will consist of adding professional services to the care network, like psychology, social work, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, audiology, and nutrition.
Vitalité said this step has already begun in Edmundston and Dieppe, where the process of including social workers on the teams has already started.
The health authority said the new model is “already proving its worth.”
In the Edmundston region, the newly created team has reduced the average waiting time by 18.9 days. Meanwhile, in the Dieppe region, the teams formed over the past few months have added 3,660 patients to their roster.
In total, 4,116 additional patients are now being served by the 41 professionals having adopted the collaborative model, according to figures provided by Vitalite.
The average wait time for patients in the model is seven days, down from 12.62.
Roughly 127 family doctors have committed to developing and implementing the model, which is 59 per cent of Vitalite’s family physicians. There have also been commitments from 15 nurse practitioners, and 32 other health professionals.
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Dr. Renelle Gautreau is one of the family doctors participating in the model. She said in the news release that family medicine is “suffering,” and the new model has been able to help the struggling doctors.
“I’m accessible much more quickly and able to do better follow-ups,” Gautreau said. “I’ve been able to take on new patients, something I haven’t been able to do for ten years.”
Some next steps for the model include opening a women’s health centre in Edmundston this month. Planning is under for an assessment service in Edmundston for children aged 0 to 4 without a health care provider, Vitalité said.
A referral centre is also expected to begin operations in Dieppe in June.
Vitalité said in a statement the remuneration methods for physicians currently being used in the province will remain because they are compatible with the proposed primary care model.
According to the news release among the 127 doctors, there are 35 in Dieppe, three in Moncton, 15 in Shediac, 14 in Bathurst, 10 in Campbellton,17 in Edmundston/Haut Madawaska, and eight in Grand Falls.
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