I am confident this will work. We sort of have this in the clinic we go to in Ottawa. If our primary doctor is not available, and we gotta see someone, we can book an emergency appt with whoever is on duty that week. The spots fill up quickly, but we have been able to get in.
My family doctor in Ottawa retired in 2020 and she was unable to find another family physician to take over her practice. She gave all her patients more than 6 months notice and advised on all the options for us to find a primary care provider. I was an orphan patient for about 18 months, thankfully not needing anything urgent (in which case I would have had to visit the ER). I put my name on wait lists for at least 3 healthcare clinics in our area (small town/rural). I now have a family doctor who is one of several young doctors in a community clinic. When she is not available I have been able to see one of the other doctors and have been able to consult with their nurse practitioner over the phone. I believe this clinic models closely what Dr. Philpott describes in her book.
Thanks for this Mr. Wells. Philipott sounds energized so there's that. However, I am one of those people who has been affected by inability to access a family doctor...in BC so beyond her current focus. I have heard these reassurance before. I had a wonderful family doctor in my former city, but moved at retirement to another city, with the naive belief that, of course, I will find a medical doctor that I can see. So almost 4 years later, nothing. I am on the list for a doctor but nada so far....I am certainly not alone. I have minimal health concerns...but do I have to wait till anything I notice to become acute, then do something about it? Right now, there is a primary heath facility not far from where I live that you have to line up early (like 6:30 am) to get a number, if you are lucky so see someone. It is a horrible experience - degrading and uncomfortable. I have had to use them once and saw a really smart doctor who gave me something that didn't work. To get something that did work, I would have to wait in line again. Luckily, the problem healed by itself. My doctor in my former town is available to refill prescriptions that she has prescribed me at her office. But I do not feel welcome there because, from what I gather, they don't get paid as much when they do a telephone 'consultation'. Consultation is just me giving the DIN's and they send them off to a pharmacist.
Here's my take on this whole thing.
We do not train enough medical doctors or nurse practitioners...but everyone know this. My son applied to the local university 3 times and then just gave up as he had to support his new family. He is brilliant and has a high GPA but evidently not high enough. As an empathetic wonderful listener, he would have been a wonderful find. He married a brilliant nurse who offers her own fairly cynical views on the inside workings at a hospital.
We, the taxpayers, cannot afford the medical system as it is and it seems that pay is a huge priority to medical staff. So much for a calling to the 'caring professionals'. Many doctors are in it for the money...I know people will take issue with this, but this comes from those in the system as well as my own outsider take.
Why oh why, do we need this system to be totally taxpayer funded? I gather that the medical poohbahs who make these type of decisions are against any crack in this obtuse and antiquated credo. I suggest she starts there but from this interview, I doubt that is on the horizon.
I wish Philpott success in this 'action'...I really do, of course. So what is her 1st thing that she will do to start the ball rolling. She has all the words for this interview but I don't know where she will start off.
The first step should be for the federal government to get out of funding front-line health care and give the tax points to the provinces. That will put the responsibility squarely on the Premiers. (Plus get rid of one of the four levels of bureaucracy that feed on health care funding.)
When doctors choose their specialty at the end of med school family medicine is the least popular choice.
Family medicine is the poorest paid specialty in medicine.
I think, but not sure, that family medicine is most governed by ministry rules. Did you know that GP's have to either work in a hospital or offer a weekend or after hours clinic? Did you know that the ministry is always changing the rules making it tougher on family docs?
Its simple, follow the money. Pay GP's more, and specialists less, and you will see more students opt for family medicine.
As a 26 year resident of Kingston who kept his Ottawa Doctor because there were none locally, I’m pleased to say things have changed. Family members recently enrolled in one of the primary care clinics Philpott referenced.
When walking through medical buildings filled with Doctor offices, each door I passed represented lost opportunity for scale and efficiency in care. I had harsh views of Ford’s efforts to fix the problem. Philpott’s appointment gives me hope that we’ll have a system that works for patients and healthcare providers alike - where emergency wards are for emergencies and people looking to pursue family medicine can do so with a reasonable work/life balance. Thanks for the conversation. Things such as this should be the focus of Fed/Prov efforts versus the drive-by approach we’ve seen out of the PM over the years. To say nothing of the political improvisation under the Liberal/NDP deal that hijacked the agenda and further blurred lines of accountability in a system built to avoid accountability.
41 Years ago my wife and I lived in Brampton. When she became pregnant she did not like her GP's old fashion attitude. So she interviewed 3 other Doctors to decide who would treat her thru
her pregnancy. We are now in Winnipeg and both have GP's and doubt they could be replaced !
Enjoyed this interview and her book. Disappointed that she didn't come to Alberta, especially since they are just starting to overhaul AHS. That would have been a good appointment for Smith. Oh well. We will watch with interest.
Something we all need to be prepared for. In the short term, this will come with a cost. We need to be prepared to pay it, in the spirit of an investment.....
I doff my hat at everything Dr. Philpott has said in this interview. The sooner the better!
My only reservation stems from my recollection that the plan in the book includes forcing doctors to become unionized, presumably essential, civil servants. Hopefully this was just a sop thrown to Liberals, because I can imagine this producing an exodus of doctors. A similar strategy has been terrible for nurses: my local health corporation has drastically cut front line service to get their agency nurse usage from 44% to 12%.
Really enjoyed listening to Dr. Philpott and I am half way through her book, “Health for All”. I can’t wait to see the changes she proposes. So smart. Our entire healthcare system, across the country, needs an overhaul. I think starting at the Provincial level, at the roots of the problems, makes a lot of sense. More money from the Feds just seems to go into a black hole, with no improvement in delivery at the Provincial level.
I am confident this will work. We sort of have this in the clinic we go to in Ottawa. If our primary doctor is not available, and we gotta see someone, we can book an emergency appt with whoever is on duty that week. The spots fill up quickly, but we have been able to get in.
My family doctor in Ottawa retired in 2020 and she was unable to find another family physician to take over her practice. She gave all her patients more than 6 months notice and advised on all the options for us to find a primary care provider. I was an orphan patient for about 18 months, thankfully not needing anything urgent (in which case I would have had to visit the ER). I put my name on wait lists for at least 3 healthcare clinics in our area (small town/rural). I now have a family doctor who is one of several young doctors in a community clinic. When she is not available I have been able to see one of the other doctors and have been able to consult with their nurse practitioner over the phone. I believe this clinic models closely what Dr. Philpott describes in her book.
Thanks for this Mr. Wells. Philipott sounds energized so there's that. However, I am one of those people who has been affected by inability to access a family doctor...in BC so beyond her current focus. I have heard these reassurance before. I had a wonderful family doctor in my former city, but moved at retirement to another city, with the naive belief that, of course, I will find a medical doctor that I can see. So almost 4 years later, nothing. I am on the list for a doctor but nada so far....I am certainly not alone. I have minimal health concerns...but do I have to wait till anything I notice to become acute, then do something about it? Right now, there is a primary heath facility not far from where I live that you have to line up early (like 6:30 am) to get a number, if you are lucky so see someone. It is a horrible experience - degrading and uncomfortable. I have had to use them once and saw a really smart doctor who gave me something that didn't work. To get something that did work, I would have to wait in line again. Luckily, the problem healed by itself. My doctor in my former town is available to refill prescriptions that she has prescribed me at her office. But I do not feel welcome there because, from what I gather, they don't get paid as much when they do a telephone 'consultation'. Consultation is just me giving the DIN's and they send them off to a pharmacist.
Here's my take on this whole thing.
We do not train enough medical doctors or nurse practitioners...but everyone know this. My son applied to the local university 3 times and then just gave up as he had to support his new family. He is brilliant and has a high GPA but evidently not high enough. As an empathetic wonderful listener, he would have been a wonderful find. He married a brilliant nurse who offers her own fairly cynical views on the inside workings at a hospital.
We, the taxpayers, cannot afford the medical system as it is and it seems that pay is a huge priority to medical staff. So much for a calling to the 'caring professionals'. Many doctors are in it for the money...I know people will take issue with this, but this comes from those in the system as well as my own outsider take.
Why oh why, do we need this system to be totally taxpayer funded? I gather that the medical poohbahs who make these type of decisions are against any crack in this obtuse and antiquated credo. I suggest she starts there but from this interview, I doubt that is on the horizon.
I wish Philpott success in this 'action'...I really do, of course. So what is her 1st thing that she will do to start the ball rolling. She has all the words for this interview but I don't know where she will start off.
The first step should be for the federal government to get out of funding front-line health care and give the tax points to the provinces. That will put the responsibility squarely on the Premiers. (Plus get rid of one of the four levels of bureaucracy that feed on health care funding.)
Great podcast. One question comes to mind - what happens to people like me who have a family physician? Is there a chance we will lose them?
When doctors choose their specialty at the end of med school family medicine is the least popular choice.
Family medicine is the poorest paid specialty in medicine.
I think, but not sure, that family medicine is most governed by ministry rules. Did you know that GP's have to either work in a hospital or offer a weekend or after hours clinic? Did you know that the ministry is always changing the rules making it tougher on family docs?
Its simple, follow the money. Pay GP's more, and specialists less, and you will see more students opt for family medicine.
Which province's rules are you describing? What you describe is not the case for GPs in all provinces.
I was commenting about Ontario as that's where Jane will be working.
As a 26 year resident of Kingston who kept his Ottawa Doctor because there were none locally, I’m pleased to say things have changed. Family members recently enrolled in one of the primary care clinics Philpott referenced.
When walking through medical buildings filled with Doctor offices, each door I passed represented lost opportunity for scale and efficiency in care. I had harsh views of Ford’s efforts to fix the problem. Philpott’s appointment gives me hope that we’ll have a system that works for patients and healthcare providers alike - where emergency wards are for emergencies and people looking to pursue family medicine can do so with a reasonable work/life balance. Thanks for the conversation. Things such as this should be the focus of Fed/Prov efforts versus the drive-by approach we’ve seen out of the PM over the years. To say nothing of the political improvisation under the Liberal/NDP deal that hijacked the agenda and further blurred lines of accountability in a system built to avoid accountability.
41 Years ago my wife and I lived in Brampton. When she became pregnant she did not like her GP's old fashion attitude. So she interviewed 3 other Doctors to decide who would treat her thru
her pregnancy. We are now in Winnipeg and both have GP's and doubt they could be replaced !
Enjoyed this interview and her book. Disappointed that she didn't come to Alberta, especially since they are just starting to overhaul AHS. That would have been a good appointment for Smith. Oh well. We will watch with interest.
Something we all need to be prepared for. In the short term, this will come with a cost. We need to be prepared to pay it, in the spirit of an investment.....
Thanks Paul. An excellent and hopeful interview.
Jane Philpott is so inspiring. She sees a problem, and works towards finding a doable solution.
Great discussion, love her level headedness.
I doff my hat at everything Dr. Philpott has said in this interview. The sooner the better!
My only reservation stems from my recollection that the plan in the book includes forcing doctors to become unionized, presumably essential, civil servants. Hopefully this was just a sop thrown to Liberals, because I can imagine this producing an exodus of doctors. A similar strategy has been terrible for nurses: my local health corporation has drastically cut front line service to get their agency nurse usage from 44% to 12%.
Really enjoyed listening to Dr. Philpott and I am half way through her book, “Health for All”. I can’t wait to see the changes she proposes. So smart. Our entire healthcare system, across the country, needs an overhaul. I think starting at the Provincial level, at the roots of the problems, makes a lot of sense. More money from the Feds just seems to go into a black hole, with no improvement in delivery at the Provincial level.