Doctors say reforms needed to health care in province

Saskatchewan doctors say they want the province's next government to make headway on broad health care reforms beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saskatchewan Medical Association President Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz hopes the victor in Monday's provincial election will begin a plan for long-standing issues like rural health care, mental health and the future of virtual care in Saskatchewan.

“If we don't address them now, we'll have to face the consequences of not addressing them later,” Konstantynowicz said.

The 2020 election is happening during a global public health crisis, and parties have made promises to improve health care delivery beyond COVID-19.

The Saskatchewan Party announced funding for urgent care centres in Saskatoon and Regina before the election period began; the NDP has promised a $100 million hiring spree for health care staff.

Some physicians want to see more specific proposals on long-standing issues.

Dr. Andries Muller, president-elect of the Saskatchewan College of Family Physicians, wants to know if parties support a transition to a Patient's Medical Home model of primary care, which he said would eliminate barriers between different health care workers treating the same patient.

He also wants consideration of different pay models for physicians beyond fee-for-service. A “salary model” was introduced briefly in the early months of the pandemic but abruptly ended.

“Obviously the criticism of (feefor-service) is that it becomes conveyor-belt medicine, you just want to get one patient after the other so you can rack up your numbers,” he said.

He and Konstantynowicz say relief is also urgently needed for overworked doctors in rural areas.

“If you're one of two physicians in a small town and you're on call every other night, you can pay me as much money as you like — I'm going to burn out and leave,” Muller said.

Konstantynowicz also wants to know about the future of virtual care options introduced during the pandemic, which are still in a pilot phase.

“Virtual care is, I think, a game changer for a lot of people,” she said. “The patients that I'm speaking to and the colleagues that I'm speaking to know that patients are really appreciative of receiving their care (that way).”

Another common priority for doctors is mental health care, which Konstantynowicz called a “silent epidemic.” She noted psychiatrists, in particular, are overloaded, which means patients can wait months for an appointment.

The Sask. Party and NDP both include mental health and addictions points in their platforms, but Muller said he wants more concrete plans to improve the continuum of care for patients.

“I think we're talking a lot about mental health care, but I don't think we're doing a lot about mental health care,” Muller said.

“If you're depressed and you're thinking about suicide, and I say `I can refer you to a person but the wait-list is six months,' that's almost a joke.”