All general practitioners (GPs) who provide surgical assists during the year will receive an incentive payment for providing elective (non-premium time) surgical assists. Qualifying surgical assist billings (up to a maximum of $30,000 per physician per year) will be eligible for an incentive payment.

• GPs who meet the criteria of total billings/payments of $75,000 during the year, including office billings of $25,000 or more, will receive an incentive payment of 40 per cent of their individual qualifying surgical assist billings.
• GPs who don't meet the criteria of total billings/payments of $75,000 during the year, including office billings of $25,000 or more, will receive an incentive payment of 20 per cent of their individual qualifying surgical assist billings.

These payments are based on qualifying surgical assist billings (fee-for-service and shadow billings) for the period April 1 to March 31, and are paid out the following summer.

A description of the program is available in the Sept. 25, 2009, MSI Physicians’ Bulletin.