NSHA release:
As of Oct. 4, 2024, there are 145,114, Nova Scotians on the Need a Family Practice Registry. The last published number was June 1, 2024 when there were 160,234 Nova Scotians on the registry.
“Seeing the list drop is an encouraging sign and we will continue to work until every Nova Scotian is attached to a primary care provider,” said Premier Tim Houston.
Looking back over the last few years the list progressed as follows:
July 12, 2022: 100,592
July 21, 2023: 152,001
June 1, 2024: 160,234
July 1, 2024: 161,579
Aug. 1, 2024: 162,766
Sept. 1, 2024: 164,489
Oct. 4, 2024: 145,114
“We are cautiously optimistic that as a result of various efforts and initiatives the healthcare system, as measured by the registry, is now stabilizing,” said interim CEO Karen Oldfield. “At this time, we believe that Nova Scotians will start to see more and more attachment as we work with existing providers to increase their clinic capacity and as we add more physicians and primary care providers to the system.”
In total 11,501 people were attached in September 2024, marking the highest monthly attachment since the registry started.
A further 7,874 people were removed as a result of ongoing validation work that confirmed they have a provider.
In addition to ongoing recruiting efforts, initiatives like the International Medical Graduate Assessment Clinic will help increase attachment over the course of 2025 and beyond. In the meantime, there are 10 new family doctors starting in October/November 2024, who will all attach more patients.
We are also seeing doctors currently in the system increase their attachment panels in light of changes to the longitudinal family medicine contract which provides greater flexibility and more innovative practice models which we expect will contribute to increased attachment in the near future.
One example of this innovation is a family physician who has started to work closely with a pharmacist as an additional team resource to ensure their patients get the right care at the right time. In the new year with the first class of physician assistants graduating from Dalhousie we may see similar models emerge incorporating physician assistants. The possibilities are endless due to the steps taken early on by this government.
Going forward all Nova Scotians who register on the Need a Family Practice Registry can expect to receive a phone call from Nova Scotia Health in the weeks after they register.
