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I would like to thank Dr. Loh for this recent recapitulation of the history of the College of Family Physicians. Indeed, there was great value in the initial standardization of training and activities for maintenance of skills salient to the practice of Family Medicine. Beyond this initial nod to the past, the remainder of the article reads as antiquated post World War II socialist propaganda with the typical constituent elements of ‘the great history’ and focus on the ‘collective’.
The question which Dr. Loh attempts to answer is that of the ‘value-add’ provided by the College. Unfortunately, there are no discreet metrics offered from which one could make such a determination. Specifically, what are the per dollar administrative costs of the College? What are the returns on investment (ROI) arising from the activities of the College? From a health economics modelling perspective, what impact do the activities of the College have on relatively simplistic population level health measures such as quality adjusted or disability adjusted life years (QALYs and DALY’s) not only for the general public (at the local, regional and national levels) but specifically the membership of said College. The aforementioned are measures which many healthcare sector non-governmental organizations and private corporations employ. Instead, we are offered the typical go to raison d'être of such legacy organizations, that of advocacy and concern. Such nebulous platitudes leave one to...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.