Each Fall, the Health Authority submits a request to the Ministry for NITAOP approvals in the upcoming fiscal year.  Physicians are notified by the Health Authority of their approved visit at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Eligibility for Family Medicine Physicians

Family medicine physicians are eligible for funding to visit eligible RSA communities where a family medicine physician is not available in the community. A maximum of 48 visits per community may be approved.

If a physician or group of physicians wish to make a proposal to the Health Authority to provide services under the Northern Isolation Travel Assistance Outreach Program they must submit a request to Doug Blackie, Corporate Director, Medical Affairs.

The request will than be forwarded to the Medical Director who assesses the application with the appropriate program manager. When approved, the application will be forwarded to the Ministry of Health for final approval and subsequent payments.

Eligibility for Visiting Specialists

Eligibility for each specialty service sought is assessed individually.

Applicable to rural communities where the specialty requested is not available within a 1.5 hour drive (distance of 105 km).

The maximum number of visits per specialty for each community per year is 24.

Specialty services eligible for funding (when not supported by Outreach Programs) include:

• Paediatrics Plastic Surgery
• Dermatology
• Radiology
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Neurology
• Methadone Program
• Otolaryngology
• Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Urology
• Cardiology
• Ophthalmology
• Oncology
• Internal Medicine
• General Surgery
• Psychiatry

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