GPSC announces Team-Based Care Grant

Family practices that have onboarded interprofessional team (IPT) members may be eligible for a new Team-based Care Grant. The grant will provide $15,000 to support team-based care practices’ growth, addressing the cost of recruiting and onboarding professionals.

For each FTE (full-time equivalent) of new eligible IPT positions, a lump sum payment of $15,000 is paid to the family practice. A staff member employed by the family practice or another organization, such as a health authority, is eligible to fill the IPT position. Positions filled on or after April 1st, 2019 are eligible for grant applications. There is currently no end date in sight.

Your practice is only eligible if you meet the following requirements:

Work within a group practice, co-located or not, consisting of two or more physicians that has added an eligible IPT member with a minimum of 0.5 FTE to the group practice.
Be considered a Community Longitudinal Family Physician according to the GPSC preamble.
Complete phase two of the GPSC phases of panel management.
Participate in quality improvement activities, aligned with the National Interprofessional Competencies Framework, related to team-based care such as services offered through the GPSC Practice Support Program, including team-based care coaches.
Work collaboratively towards implementing the attributes of the patient medical home (PMH) and PCN with the Ministry of Health, the primary care network (PCN) (if applicable), and other partners (e.g. division of family practice, health authority).

All you need to do to apply is submit an application form after filling an IPT position:

Once approved, the grant is paid based on the anticipated FTE hours of the eligible net new IPT position, in three equal installments:

After team member(s) have been hired to fill the eligible net new IPT positions.
After 6 months if the eligible IPT position is sustained.
After 12 months if the eligible IPT position is sustained.

The grant is provided as a resource to break down barriers to creating team-based care practices. How the funding is distributed between each party is agreed upon by family doctors. They may choose to:

Set up and upgrade EMR software and licensing and office hardware (e.g. phone/fax/computer) to enable interprofessional care
Compensate staff for time spent:
- Accommodating new IPT members by reviewing and implementing changes to office capacity
- Recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding new IPT members
- Reviewing medico-legal requirements relevant for particular IPT members

If you have any questions about this grant, check out their FAQ.

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