Featured Letter: Editorial missed the mark on health care fix

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The New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) took note of the January 20 editorial, “Money alone won’t end health woes”, and while we appreciate the overall message that increased government spending is not a panacea for all health system ills, we do take issue with certain claims put forth by the author.

The assertion that the waiting list for primary care has grown because physicians “don’t want to” take on more patients is misguided at best. The patient population New Brunswick physicians serve is one the oldest in the country and, in part because of underinvestment in public and preventative care by successive governments, one of the most acutely sick. Our physicians are among the best in Canada (second in the country) at taking on as many of these complex patients as possible, but the lack of investment in primary care means they have the fewest opportunities to practice in properly financed and well supported team-based environments, leading to longer wait times for their services. It is also worth noting that as per recent physician wellness surveys, 40 per cent of these physicians are considering leaving or scaling back their practices due to the current volume of work and associated conditions, so continuing to ask them to just do more is simply not a tenable strategy.

Moreover, the claim “our doctors are already well compensated” is myopic and lacks relativity. According to the most recent Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) ranking in 2021-2022, New Brunswick family physicians rank eighth in the country in terms of remuneration, while earning less than other specialties in our own province. With physicians in high demand across Canada, it is imperative our compensation packages remain competitive, and we properly recognize the value of family practice as other jurisdictions have in recent months.

That ranking was made before British Colombia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Nova Scotia made significant adjustments to their payment models for family physicians. If we want to keep our current physicians practicing in the province, let alone expect them to take on larger patient rosters and do more in general, New Brunswick must follow suit.

The NBMS completely agrees money alone will not fix healthcare. But while the editorial calls it “insulting to one’s intelligence to be told that New Brunswick needs ‘real investment’ in health care”, we would argue it is perhaps more questionable to think continued financial austerity is the solution, especially as other provinces continue to out-spend, out-innovate, and, frankly, outpace us.

Dr. Paula Keating

President, New Brunswick Medical Society