Dr. Christie Newton
President, College of Family Physicians of Canada
2630 Skymark Ave.,
Mississauga, ON., L4W 5A4
Dear Dr. Newton,
The Ontario Medical Association requests that you pause the vote and potential implementation of a third year of residency for family doctors and work with us and others to explore options on this issue.
The OMA, the largest medical association in Canada, representing 43,000 physicians, joins health ministers from across the country including the Hon. Sylvia Jones in Ontario, and others in calling for this pause.
Family medicine is in crisis in Ontario and other parts of the country. Now is not the time to focus on implementing a third year of training, but rather the time to work with you on solutions to fix the family medicine crisis with implementation of the patient's medical home of team-based care.
In Ontario alone, 2.3 million people do not have a family doctor. An estimated 4.4 million — one in four Ontarians — will be without a family doctor by 2026. This is due both to expected population growth and the fact fewer medical graduates are choosing to practice comprehensive family medicine while existing doctors are retiring or switching to other specialties.
The OMA supports high-quality, competency-based education that results in competent family physicians who feel confident to deliver comprehensive primary care.
But thoughtful consideration needs to be given to the current environment in which there is growing demand for care that family physicians are best able to deliver in Ontario and across Canada.
We also believe that a comprehensive risk-benefit analysis of the implications of a three-year family medicine residency needs to be conducted and aligned with broader physician human resources policies and planning. As Minister Jones noted in her recent letter to you, an extension of this training is not aligned with any Canadian jurisdiction’s plan to grow health human resources.
Please note, we are willing to work with you on these issues and look forward to talking with you at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
John Bozzo
Chief Executive Officer
Ontario Medical Association
Dr. Cathy Faulds MD CCFP FCFP CAC(PC) RCC
Board Chair
Ontario Medical Association