Alternative Funding
Currently, the most common alternative funding model is a mixture of fee-for-service and block funding.
An alternative funding model is usually used when a doctor is responsible for providing various services not covered under the fee-for-service model; for example teaching medical students and doing medical research. These services don't have fee codes because fee codes only cover direct patient care.
Most doctors paid through alternative funding plans are specialists working in hospital settings such as Halifax’s Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre and IWK Health Centre. In some cases, rural doctors are paid under this model.
Each alternative funding agreement is negotiated separately between Doctors Nova Scotia, the Department of Health, district health authorities, physicians and, when appropriate, Dalhousie University.