Can the family doctor shortage in Canada be fixed?

The lack of family doctors in Canada is affecting patients and the health-care system as a whole. Can this be fixed? This physician thinks it can happen.

Whether you have a family doctor or you’re looking for one, chances are you have had to endure long wait times to see them or find them.

Last year, the Angus Reid Institute reported there were six million Canadians without a family doctor, and a third of them said they had been searching for more than a year.

And even for those who are part of the lucky group who has one, their wait time probably ranges from days to weeks to get an appointment.

Danielle Martin, a family physician and chair of the department of family and community medicine at the University of Toronto, discussed the systemic issues behind the family doctor shortage in Canada on CTV’s Your Morning Friday.

“Family medicine is an incredible career based on relationships over time with our patients and really, really rewarding,” said Martin; however, there are not enough family doctors in the country.

The lack of access to family doctors is not only causing issues for patients, but also for the Canadian health-care system as a whole.

In response to lack of family doctor access, people are relying on walk-in clinics to see a professional, which increases the burden on the health-care sector, as walk-ins are not meant for in-depth or long-term care.