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What is Canada Doing to Address the Shortage of Family Doctors?

Are you as concerned as I am over the thought that there is a real shortage of family doctors in Canada? Did you know that a staggering 4.4 million people in Canada do not have a family doctor? 

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, more than 75,000 doctors were actively working in 2012, which was a 4% increase from the previous year, and $22 billion was paid out for their services, which was a 9% increase from the previous year. So let’s see, we have more doctors working, their pay cheques are rising, but yet, patients are having the hardest time finding a family doctor. Something doesn’t seem right! Geoff Ballinger, manager of health human resources at CIHI said “I don’t believe Canada has a problem with the number of physicians, I think we have a substantial problem with the types and, furthermore, the distribution of doctors.”

Why are medical students not choosing to practice family medicine when there is a dire need for this profession? And what is the government doing to entice future doctors to enter this category of medicine? 

According to Statistics Canada, family doctors work an average of 51 hours weekly. The fact is, in this day and age, many young doctors are not willing to work the long hours that are part of a traditional family practice, especially those with children. The emphasis today is on adopting a work-life balance.  

While family medicine saw a spike in the 1980’s, it hasn’t been a chosen profession for many graduate students since the 1990’s, one of the reasons being that it is viewed a lower paid and less prestigious position than a career in the field of specialized medicine. What has the government done to address the problem? Since 1998, when pay caps in Ontario were removed, family doctors’ salaries have generally seen a substantial increase. In 2004, a yearly salary for a family doctor was about $200,000 and that amount steadily rose to $300,000 by 2010. As a result, family medicine professionals in Ontario have more than doubled over the last 10 years. 

Cities like Cambridge, Ontario present a good example to other Canadian cities as they’ve begun to handle the problem by mounting physician recruitment campaigns to entice young doctors to open practices in their communities. The response has been a positive one. Part of their recruitment plan includes outlining the highlights of living and working in the city for doctors and their families.

What have doctors and clinics done to address the issues of heavy case loads? Doctors who are practicing family medicine are finding ways to ‘lighten the load’ by joining group practices. Clinics have begun to hire more registered nurses who can interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe medications, and perform specific procedures, which are usually performed by doctors. 

It’s a work in progress.  Hopefully, as the needs of both doctors and patients are addressed, and the shortage of family doctors becomes ever more apparent, a greater number of future doctors will choose family medicine as their specialty.

Why is it so Hard to Find a Family Doctor these Days?

I, like many other Canadians do not have a family doctor, which means that having a yearly physical that would reveal any potential health problems can be a real concern. I’m currently on several doctors’ patient wait lists but I seem to have hit a brick wall. I worry that I will likely find out about a health issue only when it has become a critical issue! An unfortunate outcome of this scenario is that many of the costs for medical care could be avoided if a medical condition was foreseen at its onset. 

Doctorlink.ca is a free directory that lists doctors who are accepting new patients, which is a great tool for those seeking a family physician. It requires you to set up an account, and it works by matching you up with a doctor in any specialty in your area. I logged in, chose Family Medicine as the specialty, entered all the necessary information, including checking off the box that says ‘accepting new patients only’, and when I pressed submit I received the following message: Sorry, according to our records there are currently no Doctors who match your search criteria. Frustrated, I re-submitted my information without checking the box and came up with a directory of 22 family doctors in my area. I guess my next step would be to contact each doctor in order to be added to their waiting lists and hope for the best. 

There is always the option of having a yearly check-up at a private clinic. Although costly, at this point, it may be worth it. 

It would seem that the old system of one patient, one doctor, has seen its day. Just like in earlier posts, where I’ve discussed the issues of hospital wait times and suggested taking matters into your own hands by investing in a private health insurance plan that can lessen the wait by expanding your treatment options, I propose we take a similar approach by advocating for ourselves, and getting informed about the goings on in our communities when it comes to doctors, clinics, and health care options.