Learn how to successfully implement the BC Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) Payment Model with guidance on physician enrollment, clinic setup, patient panel management, billing workflows, time tracking, and annual compliance requirements.
What is the BC LFP Payment Model?
Launched in February 2023, the BC Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) Payment Model is British Columbia’s primary care compensation model for eligible family physicians. Whether you’re already practicing under the model or preparing to implement it, understanding its requirements is essential to maximizing its benefits. The model recognizes the full scope of family medicine by compensating physicians for direct patient care, indirect patient care, clinical administration, and ongoing patient panel management.
While the model creates new opportunities for comprehensive family practice compensation, it also introduces operational and billing requirements that must be managed consistently across physicians, MOAs, billing teams, and clinic administrators.
Successful participation requires more than physician enrollment. Clinics must establish workflows for interaction billing, time-code tracking, patient panel management, clinic registration requirements, and ongoing compliance activities.
To help clinics navigate these requirements, we’ve created a BC LFP Payment Model Physician & MOA Checklist that includes enrollment requirements, clinic setup guidance, billing workflows, patient panel management processes, time-tracking reminders, and annual compliance checkpoints. Before downloading it, here are seven areas every clinic should review to support successful participation in the model.
1. Physician Enrollment and Eligibility
Before billing under the LFP model, physicians must ensure they meet all participation requirements established by the Medical Services Commission (MSC).
This includes maintaining eligibility as a comprehensive family physicians, participating in the Provincial Attachment System (PAS), and meeting applicable patient panel requirements.
Many clinics assume enrollment is a one-time task, but eligibility should be reviewed regularly. Changes in practice structure, patient panel composition, or physician scope of practice can affect participation requirements.
Operational Tip: Designate a clinic lead to review physician enrollment status and registration requirements annually to avoid interruptions in billing eligibility.
2. Clinic Setup and Billing Configuration
Even when physicians are properly enrolled, billing challenges can occur if clinic systems have not been configured correctly.
Before implementing the LFP model, clinics should review:
- MSP Facility Numbers
- Practitioner information and billing profiles
- Location and facility codes
- EMR billing templates
- ICD-9 diagnostic code workflows
- Internal billing policies and documentation standards
Billing teams should also ensure physicians understand how LFP interaction codes, time codes, and documentation requirements differ from traditional fee-for-service workflows. Proper setup helps reduce claim rejections and supports accurate billing from the first day of participation.
Operational Tip: Conduct a billing workflow review whenever new physicians join the clinic or when major billing updates are introduced.
3. Patient Panel Management
Patient panel management is one of the foundational components of the LFP model.
Maintaining accurate patient attachment records helps support continuity of care and ensures physicians remain aligned with participation requirements.
Clinics should establish processes to:
- Review attached patient record regularly
- Update patient attachment information when required
- Reconcile PAS records with EMR data
- Monitor patient turnover and attachment changes
- Identify unattached patients requiring follow-up
In many practices, patient panel management becomes an ongoing operational responsibility shared between physicians, MOAs, and clinic administrators.
Operational Tip: Schedule quarterly panel reviews to identify discrepancies before they become larger administrative issues.
4. Daily Billing Workflows
The LFP model introduces a combination of interaction-based billing and time-based billing that requires consistent documentation and coding practices.
Whether care is delivered in person, virtually, in a patient’s home, or through other eligible interactions, physicians and billing teams should have a shared understanding of:
- Eligible interaction types
- Documentation requirements
- Submission timelines
- Add-on billing opportunities
- Time-code billing requirements
- Common billing errors
Because billing under the LFP model extends beyond traditional patient visits, clinics should also establish processes for tracking eligible physician activities performed outside of appointments.
Standardized workflows help reduce claim rejections, improve billing accuracy, and ensure physicians receive appropriate compensation for the work they perform.
Operational Tip: Create a billing reference guide for physicians and MOAs that outlines common interaction scenarios, time-tracking expectations, and documentation requirements.
5. Time Tracking and Documentation
One of the most significant changes under the LFP model is the recognition of physician work that occurs outside of face-to-face patient visits.
Examples may include:
- Reviewing diagnostic results
- Coordinating care with specialists
- Managing prescription renewals
- Reviewing external reports
- Completing patient documentation
- Communicating with patients outside scheduled appointments
Because compensation is linked to physician time, documentation practices become increasingly important. Physicians must be able to demonstrate that billed time reflects eligible clinical activities and is supported by appropriate records.
Clinics that rely on memory-based time tracking often experience inconsistencies and missed billing opportunities. Instead, physicians should establish workflows that support real-time or same-day documentation whenever possible.
Operational Tip: Build time-tracking prompts directly into existing EMR workflows to improve consistency, support audit readiness, and reduce missed billable activities.
6. The Evolving Role of MOAs Under the LFP Model
Medical Office Assistants play a critical role in supporting LFP operations.
While physicians remain responsible for clinical documentation and billing decisions, MOAs often help coordinate many of the administrative processes that support successful participation.
These responsibilities may include:
- Patient attachment workflows
- Panel management support
- Registration tracking
- Appointment workflow coordination
- Billing quality assurance
- Documentation follow-up
As the LFP model continues to evolve, clinics that clearly define physician and MOA responsibilities are often better positioned to maintain efficient workflows.
Operational Tip: Develop written workflow procedures so responsibility remain clear as staff members change or new team members join the clinic.
7. Annual Compliance Reviews
The most successful clinics treat LFP participation as an ongoing operational process rather than a one-time implementation project.
At least annually, clinics should review:
- Physician enrollment status
- Patient panel information
- Billing workflows
- Documentation practices
- Time tracking processes
- Practice registration requirements
- Internal compliance procedures
Routine reviews help identify potential issues early and support long-term participation in the model.
Operational Tip: Incorporate LFP compliance reviews into annual clinic operations planning rather than addressing issues only when they arise.
Why a Physician & MOA Checklist Matters
Managing the BC LFP Payment Model requires coordination across multiple areas of clinic operations, billing, and compliance. Without standardized processes, clinics may face:
- Billing errors
- Documentation gaps
- Administrative inefficiencies
- Compliance risks
- Missed compensation opportunities
A structured checklist helps ensure physicians, MOAs, billing teams, and administrators remain aligned on key requirements throughout the year, including enrollment obligations, patient panel management, billing workflows, time-code tracking, and annual compliance reviews.
Successfully managing the BC LFP Payment Model requires more than understanding the rules—it requires consistent operational processes that support accurate billing and long-term compliance.
To help physicians, MOAs, clinic administrators, and billing teams navigate these requirements, we’ve created a practical BC LFP Payment Model Physician & MOA Checklist that includes:
- Physician eligibility requirements
- LFP enrollment and registration reminders
- Clinic setup and billing configuration checks
- Patient panel management workflows
- Interaction billing and time-tracking guidance
- Annual compliance review checkpoints
Whether you’re implementing the LFP model for the first time or refining existing workflows, this resource can help your team stay organized and reduce administrative risk.
Download the BC LFP Payment Model Physician & MOA Checklist