College of Family Physicians thinks fee-for-service switch will hurt recruiting
Laura Chapin | CBC News | Posted: April 11, 2016 8:08 PM | Last Updated: April 11, 2016
College of Family Physicians says new hires should be able to choose the model they work under
The group that represents family doctors on P.E.I. worries not giving new doctors hired in Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I., a choice in how they are paid will ultimately hurt recruitment.
"We at the College feel that a one-size fits all approach is not an ideal way to recruit or retain physicians, and that there
needs to be options for physicians and how they're able to provide patient care," said Dr. Shannon Curtis, president of the Prince Edward Island College of Family Physicians.
needs to be options for physicians and how they're able to provide patient care," said Dr. Shannon Curtis, president of the Prince Edward Island College of Family Physicians.
The college represents most of the family doctors on the Island, including the third Health PEI says are already paid through a fee-for-service model.
Health PEI told CBC News on Friday that all new family doctors hired in Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I. will now be paid fee-for-service — taking a salary is no longer an option.
Health officials say recruitment in the major centres is not as difficult as it once was, and so the focus is now on getting more people access to a family doctor.
No consultation with group on changes
Curtis said CBC's report was the first she'd heard about the change.
While she agrees Health PEI's Family Medicine Program has made recruitment more successful in the last few years, she believes allowing graduates to take a salary rather than fee-for-service is a major reason for that success.
"Most of those residents have chosen salary as the way that they want to practice when they are first starting out. And so that may lead to less retention of those trainee physicians," said Curtis.
"Physicians like anyone else like choice in how they work and they want to feel comfortable in the workplace, and if they've been trained in a salary-type setting for them to suddenly change to a fee-for-service setting they might not find that attractive."
Health PEI hopes the switch to fee-for-service in the two major centres will help eventually clear the patient registry. Currently, Health PEI estimates about 8,000 Islanders are on that list waiting for a family doctor.
Higher earning potential under fee-for-service
"If we look at a fee-for-service models versus salary models, certainly physicians that carry a fee-for-service load tend to have a larger amount of patients," explained Curtis.
Under fee-for-service a doctor is paid based on the number of patients they see versus salary which is an hourly wage.
Curtis said fee-for-service does have advantages, including a higher earning potential for doctors, but she said new graduates need time to get up to speed, something she believes is easier in a salaried position.
"As you advance along and get to know your patients you can increase your speed at an appropriate time for you, which will improve the patient care," said Curtis.
Dr. Nadeem Dada, executive director of medical affairs for Health PEI, told CBC News that the new policy will be reassessed if recruitment drops.