No concern about 'diminished supply' of doctors: health ministry
CBC
Recruitment and retention of doctors in Ontario is "not a major concern," the Ministry of Health suggests in arguments it is making in arbitration with the Ontario Medical Association over physician compensation.
The argument from the province comes as the OMA, which represents Ontario's doctors, has repeatedly warned that more than two million residents don't have a family doctor and thousands of physician jobs are going unfilled.
The province is in the midst of negotiations with the OMA for the next Physician Services Agreement, which determines how doctors are compensated, covering the next four years.
But the talks are going so poorly that an arbitrator is now being asked to determine compensation levels for the first year while the two sides work on the 2025-2028 period, one of the doctors involved said.
"Things are in such dire shape that that's the fastest way to get money out the door to stabilize family doctors' practices," said Dr. David Barber, the chair of the OMA's Section on General and Family Practice.
The government's arguments in its arbitration brief are unlikely to improve relations, he said.
"It's really quite insulting," Barber said.
"The numbers are one thing, right, but ... the government's approach here is their briefing essentially says there's nothing wrong. I get there's posturing, but this is actually quite dangerous posturing on the side of the government."
The OMA is proposing a five per cent general price increase for the year, a 10.2 per cent "catch up" to account for inflation and "low price increases" since 2012, as well as 7.7 per cent to be directed to various health system programs.
In comparison to the 15.2 per cent in direct increases the OMA is proposing, the Ministry of Health is proposing three per cent. There is no need for any "catch up," it argues.
"The average physician income adjustments compared favourably with other settlements where retention and recruitment is not a major concern," the ministry wrote.
"We will illustrate that there is no concern of a diminished supply of physicians. Across Canada, Ontario has the best record in attracting medical graduates to train in Ontario. Further, Ontario has enjoyed a growth in physicians that far outstrips population growth."
The ministry cited various data points to back up its arguments. The supply of doctors has grown 8.9 per cent from 2019-20 to 2023-24, while the population grew 7.1 per cent, it said.
In that same time period, the average income of a physician increased by about 10 per cent, while the average patient encounters per physician dropped 3.7 per cent, the ministry said.
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