Future of family medicine in Canada: Four evidence-based strategies for health care transformation

Alan Katz; Alexander G. Singer

doi:10.46747/cfp.7003155

Compose eLetter

Title *

Author Information

Contributors
First Name and Middle Initial * First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'. Last Name * Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'. Email Address * Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com Occupation * Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'. Affiliation * Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.

Statement of Competing Interests

Competing interests? *

Yes

Please describe the competing interests

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

What code is in the image? *

Enter the characters shown in the image.

Vertical Tabs

Jump to comment:

RE:Future of family medicine in Canada
VAL GINZBURG

Published on: 30 March 2024

Published on: (30 March 2024)
Page navigation anchor for RE:Future of family medicine in Canada
RE:Future of family medicine in Canada
VAL GINZBURG, Family physician, Emergency physician, Humber River Hospital
I read this article in anticipation of insightful engaging discussion about innovation with new ideas and use of AI. However, I was disappointed to see that article is based not evidence but on failed policies and
I read this article expecting an insightful discussion on innovation with new ideas and the use of AI. However, I was disappointed to find that the article lacks evidence and relies on failed policies and slogans. For instance, the quality of care in team-based practices is questionable due to artificially imposed income distribution benchmarks, which inversely correlate with productivity. As a result, in team-based approaches, more complex patients often don't get to see a physician, and the focus is on younger patients who provide income but don't require regular care. Physicians with different attributes and qualities choose to practice in various settings, fostering healthy competition and allowing clients to choose efficient care systems. Similarly, hospitals with broader services tend to face inefficiencies like sprawling bureaucracies, as do large team organizations the authors support. References to the British NHS are intriguing, considering its decline in quality of care despite a higher population density than Canada. The authors' proposal to overhaul the system resembles a socialist revolution, where the government dictates entitlements to clients, often resulting in service deterioration, as seen in comparable systems. Notably, t...
Show More

I read this article in anticipation of insightful engaging discussion about innovation with new ideas and use of AI. However, I was disappointed to see that article is based not evidence but on failed policies and
I read this article expecting an insightful discussion on innovation with new ideas and the use of AI. However, I was disappointed to find that the article lacks evidence and relies on failed policies and slogans. For instance, the quality of care in team-based practices is questionable due to artificially imposed income distribution benchmarks, which inversely correlate with productivity. As a result, in team-based approaches, more complex patients often don't get to see a physician, and the focus is on younger patients who provide income but don't require regular care. Physicians with different attributes and qualities choose to practice in various settings, fostering healthy competition and allowing clients to choose efficient care systems. Similarly, hospitals with broader services tend to face inefficiencies like sprawling bureaucracies, as do large team organizations the authors support. References to the British NHS are intriguing, considering its decline in quality of care despite a higher population density than Canada. The authors' proposal to overhaul the system resembles a socialist revolution, where the government dictates entitlements to clients, often resulting in service deterioration, as seen in comparable systems. Notably, the authors cite BC's failing strategies, such as injection sites and epidemics of hepatitis C and other infectious diseases. I believe several strategies could improve healthcare:

Implement a centralized data center for EMR nationwide.
Establish standard reporting protocols.
Provide RD, OT, PT services to pensioners, similar to medication coverage.
Increase reimbursement for rural physicians and health professionals.
Use quality standards to incentivize physicians through bonuses.
Lastly, if team-based systems outperform natural competition, they should naturally attract more clients, but this assumption needs scrutiny.
Show Less

Competing Interests: None declared.