Tier 1 - Practice Support ($25,000 annually)

Rural specialists practising in Nova Scotia may be eligible for a practice support payment of $25,000 annually.

To be eligible, you:

• must qualify as a rural specialist
• must have minimum total MSI billings or equivalent payment through a rural specialty contract of $150,000 in the previous fiscal year
• must participate in facility on-call schedule, as 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)
• must have an office outside the hospital that is paid for by the physician, or have a private office within an NSH facility that is paid for by the physician
• must use Ocean and the centralized referral process as part of the practice if applicable to the physician’s specialty
• must be actively using a DHW-approved EMR

Key performance indicators regarding wait times and access, as developed for specialties province-wide, will be developed with a goal of integrating those KPIs as eligibility criteria on 1 April 2024. 

Application process

The application process for the tier 1 payment closed on July 1, 2024, watch for more information in 2025.

Tier 2 - Retention ($16,000 annually)

Rural specialists practising in Nova Scotia may be eligible for a retention incentive payment of $16,000 annually.

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 $150,000 in the previous fiscal year
• must participate in facility on-call schedule, 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.

Application process

The tier 2 annual payment will continue to be paid automatically by the Department of Health and Wellness each December.