SMA seeking input from docs to fix system

Dr. Intheran Pillay is on the road, speaking with physicians around the province to get their prescription for health-care design.

The president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) was in Regina this week to hear from the Regina Qu’Appelle Regional Medical Association.

It was the eighth of 12 stops that Pillay and Dr. Joanne Sivertson, SMA vice-president, will make.

The tour is occurring at the same time that a three-member advisory panel is examining reducing and restructuring the regional health authorities.

Potential changes have some rural physicians worried about centralization or loss of services in their communities. Pillay conveyed that concern when the SMA made its presentation to the panel on Sept. 16.

The SMA also raised the concern that changing the number and configuration of the health regions might not accomplish a great deal — either financially or in terms of improved service, he said. That said, Pillay conceded some gains might be achieved by examining better governance structures and policies.

“I think there’s a bigger role for us to play in terms of system oversight and the appropriate structuring in terms of the number of regions and how effectively they work, (that) will lend itself to better oversight and better communication,” he said. “However, it’s a complex issue.”

Restructuring could provide an opportunity to improve health information technology systems to audit and improve the system, Pillay said. Redesigning the healthcare system needs to ensure a good work-life balance for physicians so they can provide high-quality patient care consistently and don’t burn out, Pillay said.

Doctors in rural areas continue to be frustrated by the lack of human resources. “It has improved quite remarkably over the past several years, but still there is the fear of burnout because of the oncall duties, especially in the smaller centres that have smaller physician complements,” Pillay said.