Jonathan Migneault

A family doctor in North Bay, Ont., says family medicine is in crisis&nbsp;and several changes are needed to ensure more medical students choose to become family physicians.

"Family medicine clinical practice is just not as attractive as we need it to be to have a sustainable health-care system," said Dr. Taylor Lougheed.

According to the Ontario College of Family Physicians, 2.3 million Ontarians&nbsp;are without a family doctor. That number is expected to increase to 4.4 million by 2026.

Across the province, there are 108 unfilled medicine spots for residency placements, including 11 at NOSM University, in northern Ontario.

Lougheed said a few things make family medicine less attractive to students deciding which specialty to pursue.

Family physicians spend an increasing amount of time on administrative work, managing their practices, he said.

"We're hearing that some doctors are spending upwards of 19 hours a week doing admin tasks, sending referrals&nbsp;and filling out insurance company forms."

A sign that says "York University" with a building and people in the background.

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Another issue, said Lougheed, is family physicians aren't compensated as well as specialists, especially when the overhead of managing a practice is taken into account.

"Their gross income is used to cover overhead, help pay for staff, pay for supplies, and the math isn't working out."

Lougheed said many new doctors graduate from medical school with significant student debt and are considering other specialities that pay more.

In the 2024&nbsp;Ontario budget, the province set aside $9 million to plan for a new medical school at Toronto's York University&nbsp;that would be dedicated to training family doctors.

Lougheed said he welcomes the initiative, but there are already openings for family medicine residencies that are going unfilled.&nbsp;

Family doctor shortage affects every region and is getting worse, Ontario Medical Association says

Every region of Ontario is experiencing a shortage of family doctors and the crisis is only going to get worse if the provincial government doesn't take immediate action, the Ontario Medical Association is warning.

Health experts say many factors are contributing to a crisis in primary healthcare, including a shortage of family doctors and a backlog of non-emergency care delayed by the pandemic

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The medical association representing Ontario doctors is warning that the province's doctor shortage crisis is worsening.

Physicians sound alarm over unfilled Ontario residency spots

Physicians are sounding the alarm after more than 100 spaces reserved for training new family doctors in Ontario went unfilled this year.

The province of Manitoba and Doctors Manitoba, which bargains on behalf of physicians, have settled on a new four-year contract. The agreement still needs to be ratified by doctors. 

doctors doctor

Family doctors say an increase in the number of medical student graduates choosing not to pursue a career in family medicine could exacerbate Ontario's family doctor shortage.

To attract more family doctors, he said,&nbsp;a centralized referral system would help relieve some of the administrative burden faced by family doctors.

He said the compensation issue also has to be addressed.

Not addressing the family doctor shortage puts a strain on the entire health-care system, Lougheed said.

"There are ripple effects across the entire system and we're seeing that now with increased wait times and worse outcomes."

Dr. Taylor Lougheed, a family physician in North Bay, says several changes are needed to encourage more medical students to go into family medicine.

Family doctor in North Bay, Ont., says family medicine is in crisis

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