Can you afford to keep practising?: Family medicine finances transformed by COVID-19 in Alberta

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on FP finances in Alberta. DESIGN: A financial model that included fees, visits per day, number of days of practice, and overhead costs. SETTING: Alberta before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. PARTICIPANTS: Hypothetical fee-for-service FP practices. INTERVENTIONS: Changes in practice modes caused by the pandemic and changes to fees set by the Government of Alberta (no interventions were controlled by the researchers). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Annual average FP billings and annual average FP income after overhead expenses. RESULTS: Practice changes related to COVID-19 could result in a reduction in average FP income (billings after expenses) of 27% to 78%. CONCLUSION: Practice pattern changes, including the rapid adoption of telemedicine owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, will reduce incomes for fee-for-service community FP practices in Alberta. Fees at current levels could make some practices unsustainable.