To be eligible, you:

• must qualify as a rural specialist
• must have Nova Scotia Health Authority privileges for three consecutive years as a rural specialist as of March 31 prior to the payment
• must have minimum total MSI billings or equivalent payment through a rural specialty contract of $125,000 in the previous fiscal year
• must participate in a district facility on-call schedule, as and if required
• must be actively practising in Nova Scotia as of April 1 of the year of payment (have billings during the period from March 1 of the payment year to the time of the retention payment)

For those physicians who become eligible for a retention payment upon three consecutive years of practice as a rural specialist during the program, payment for the first year of eligibility is prorated from the third anniversary.