A Different Approach To Family Medicine

Every New Brunswicker should have access to a family physician. That’s why the New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) partnered with the provincial government to launch a different way of delivering family medicine in New Brunswick. A voluntary program for physicians, Family Medicine New Brunswick (FMNB) brings the best of what is working well across Canada and around the world to New Brunswick and tailors it to reflect our unique needs.

FMNB was developed by physicians in consultation with patients and other health-care professionals. This different approach is leading to improved patient access to care and enhanced chronic disease prevention – the most significant cost driver in health-care today. The success of FMNB has the potential to strengthen the entire health-care system.

FMNB is a collaborative way of practising that is:

• improving the recruitment of young family physicians;
• providing New Brunswickers with better access to family physicians.
• giving family physicians more time for patient care.

Key principles of the program:

• Physicians are encouraged to see patients more quickly.
• If a patient’s family physician is unavailable, they may be able to see a different physician with full access to their medical record and history.
• Patients are formally assigned to a primary care provider and become and become a rostered patient.
• Patients may be able to email or call their physician with questions when appropriate.

Physicians operating under the FMNB model manage their own collaborative practices with ongoing support provided by the NBMS.

For a list of FMNB clinics in New Brunswick, click here.