The Northern Isolation Travel Assistance Outreach Program (NITAOP) provides funding for approved physicians who visit rural and isolated communities to provide medical services.
The Program
- Provides a travel time honorarium for approved visiting specialists and general practitioners.
- Health authorities submit an annual request for visiting physicians to the Ministry of Health.
Eligibility for General Practitioners
- General practitioners are eligible for funding to visit eligible RSA communities where a general practitioner is not available within 105 km of the community.
- A maximum of 48 visits per community per year may be approved.
Eligibility for Visiting Specialists
- Eligibility for each requested specialty service sought is assessed individually.
- Specialists are eligible for funding to visit eligible RSA communities where a specialist of the same specialty is not available within 105 km of the community.
- A maximum of 24 visits per specialty for each community per year may be approved.
- Specialty services eligible for funding (when not supported by other outreach programs) include:
ENT
Cardiology
Dermatology
Internal Medicine (including sub-specialty services)
General Surgery
Methadone Program
Neurology
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Ophthalmology
Oncology
Orthopaedic Surgery
Paediatrics
Plastic Surgery
Physiatry
Psychiatry (including sub-specialty services)
Radiology
Urology
Travel Reimbursement
- Reimbursement will be paid directly to approved visiting physicians by MSP upon receipt of their travel expense form and applicable original receipts for each visit.
- Travel expense forms and receipts must be submitted before June 30 for the previous fiscal year.
Travel Time
- Approved physicians are entitled to a travel time honorarium.
- Travel time is calculated from the time the physician leaves his or her residence/office to the time he or she arrives in the community, and from the time the physician leaves the community to the time he or she arrives to their residence/office.
- Travel time will be reimbursed per return trip as follows:
less than 2.5 hours = $250.00
2.5 to 4 hours = $500.00
4 to 10 hours = $1,000.00
Greater than 10 hours = $1,500.00
Making Requests
- Health authorities must submit funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year to the Ministry of Health.
- Funidng requests submitted by the health authorities for the upcoming fiscal year are reviewed by the JSC at the beginning of the calendar year.
For travel expenses and claims contact:
NITAOP Program
For payment information:
Health Insurance BC (HIBC)
TFP in BC: 1 866 456-6950
P: 604 456-6950
F: 250 405-3592
Complete Application for Expenses
For information contact:
Physician Compensation
Rural Practice Programs
Ministry of Health Services
3-2, 1515 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC, V8W 3C8
P: 250 952-2754
F: 250 952-3486
hlth.ruralprograms@gov.bc.ca
www.health.gov.bc.ca/pcb/rural.html
Doctors of BC (formerly BC Medical Association)
#115 – 1665 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC, V6J 5A4
TFP in BC: 1 800 665-2262
P: 604 736-5551
benefits@doctorsofbc.ca
doctorsofbc.ca
