Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums
  • My alerts
The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • RSS feeds
  • Follow cfp Template on Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
OtherCollege

It’s report card time!

The CFPC’s role in health policy

Francine Lemire
Canadian Family Physician March 2014, 60 (3) 300;
Francine Lemire
MD CM CCFP FCFP CAE
Roles: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading
Figure

Dear Colleagues,

Several years ago, as part of a survey, members expressed a wish for their College to play a greater role in health policy and advocacy. They recognized that provincial medical associations, as well as other professional associations they belonged to, were involved in this area; however, they believed there was a need for an additional voice with a specific lens on family medicine and family practice. This has led, over a period of several years, to more dedicated energy as part of College-wide initiatives. A number of documents have been produced that articulate the role of the family physician, and of family practice in general, in a strong health care system (eg, the Patient’s Medical Home; the role of the family physician in public health). The College is also invited to provide representatives on committees and working groups that influence health policy in areas relevant to the care provided by family physicians (eg, the group created under the auspices of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse examining prescription drug misuse; ongoing consultations with Health Canada on medical marijuana). Your College has made presentations to government as well, in areas relevant to the care family physicians provide (eg, presentation to a Senate committee regarding end-of-life care; presentation to the Standing Committee on Health on prescription drug abuse). The College also offers comment on the effects of certain bills presented by Members of Parliament in the House of Commons (eg, a bill addressing sodium, a bill on drug shortages).

Last fall, the College released its Report Card,1 grading the role of the federal government in several areas pertaining to health care. Using the best evidence available, we ranked the government’s performance—ascribing green-, yellow-, or red-light ratings depending on the degree of engagement and performance—in 5 areas deemed important to the health of Canadians:

  • putting care front and centre;

  • caring for the most vulnerable;

  • having enough health care providers; establishing the vision for health care and measuring performance; and

  • supporting health care research.

You can view the full Report Card online (www.cfpc.ca/uploadedFiles/Health_Policy/_PDFs/CFPC_FederalReportCard2013_EN.pdf).1 We want to emphasize that this exercise is not about scolding the government, but rather about engagement and about the CFPC and its members being part of the solution. You will also note that several measures of performance relate to the social determinants of health. As family doctors, we know the negative effects that poverty and homelessness have on one’s health. We believe that the government can substantially influence how we as a society address these issues. We reiterate the importance of each Canadian having a family doctor and emphasize the concept of the Patient’s Medical Home. The CFPC also supports the development of a national health strategy and of measurable national health goals. Canada cannot have a long-term vision for health care without a national health strategy.

We had the opportunity to discuss the Report Card with members of every federal political party in September 2013. Although health care is administered provincially, the federal government has a role to play in establishing national standards for care; upholding such standards; creating national programs to meet the needs of Canadians; and providing adequate funding to providers and programs that develop, watch over, and deliver our health care. We intend to review the federal government’s performance using the same measures during the 2014 and 2015 legislative sessions and in the months leading up to the 2015 federal general election. Canadians should have the best health care from coast to coast to coast. Every Canadian should be able to access excellent care provided by expert health care providers. We invite you to be part of this conversation. Review the report, inform yourself, and engage your local politicians and leaders in discussions about our health care system. For further information and feedback, please contact our health policy department at healthpolicy{at}cfpc.ca.

Acknowledgments

I thank Mr Eric Mang, Director of Health Policy and Government Relations, for his review of and feedback on this article.

Footnotes

  • Cet article se trouve aussi en français à la page 299.

  • Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada

Reference

  1. 1.↵
    1. College of Family Physicians of Canada
    . The role of the federal government in health care. Report card 2013. Mississauga, ON: College of Family Physicians of Canada; 2013.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Family Physician: 60 (3)
Canadian Family Physician
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 Mar 2014
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on The College of Family Physicians of Canada.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
It’s report card time!
(Your Name) has sent you a message from The College of Family Physicians of Canada
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the The College of Family Physicians of Canada web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
It’s report card time!
Francine Lemire
Canadian Family Physician Mar 2014, 60 (3) 300;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Share
It’s report card time!
Francine Lemire
Canadian Family Physician Mar 2014, 60 (3) 300;
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • Reference
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • L’heure des bilans!
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

College

  • Un avenir meilleur
  • A better future
  • Les femmes en médecine : la force du leadership
Show more College

Cumulative Profile

  • Scope of work and the future of family practice
  • Building a family medicine movement
  • Addressing family physician shortages
Show more Cumulative Profile

Similar Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
  • Collections - English
  • Collections - Française

For Authors

  • Authors and Reviewers
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Permissions
  • Terms of Use

General Information

  • About CFP
  • About the CFPC
  • Advertisers
  • Careers & Locums
  • Editorial Advisory Board
  • Subscribers

Journal Services

  • Email Alerts
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feeds

Copyright © 2023 by The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Powered by HighWire