Waiting for a family doctor? Answer your phone

Nova Scotians on the province's wait-list for a family doctor or nurse practitioner will soon be getting a call to confirm contact information andto see if a primary care provider is still needed.

The calls, according to the Nova Scotia Health Authority, are part of its regular process to check the information it has in its registry so that family practices can contact people when they are accepting new patients.

"It will be an automated voice that will walk through options for people to identify if they still require a provider, to press a number," saidShannonRyan Carson, the health authority's director of primary health care.

The automated calls started Tuesday and will continue over the next couple of weeks. The call will ask to confirm that someone at the phone number is registered and whether they still need a family practice.

The caller ID will show up on the call display as 000-000-0000.

Ryan Carson said three call attempts will be made and if the person doesn't pick up on the third call, a voicemail will be left.

If contact information has changed since originally registering for the Need a Family Practice registry, the health authority said people can call 811 Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to update their information.

Those who are not registered can sign up online.

As of Nov. 1, Ryan Carson said 39,965 people were on the registry for a family practice provider.