Reward GPs for hard job they do

Re: “Incorporation changes will hurt MDs — and you,” comment, July 28.

Dr. Kristi Herrling’s commentary about the negative effects on family doctors of proposed federal changes to the tax laws governing private incorporation was frightening.

She pointed out that family doctors would no longer be able to save money in the corporation for such essentials as office staff, payment of student debt, the doctor’s own sick leave and retirement savings. They could no longer share income with at-home spouses, even though the spouse has to be at home if there is to be any family life, given the long hours and on-call work of the doctor.

Family doctors already have the hardest job in the medical world. Since the inception of medicare, medical knowledge has mushroomed. It is GPs who have to keep on top of a vast and changing field of new knowledge.

Specialists narrow their field of responsibility. In fact, most specialties are broken into subspecialties. Yet the generalist is paid the least. No wonder too few people want to be family doctors.

Do we want to pretend that human beings are machines with mechanical parts that can be fixed in isolation on assembly lines? Our system is becoming an emergency system that is costly and produces poorer outcomes.

If we want good health care, we need to reward family doctors appropriately for the very hard job they do, rather than changing laws to make their lives even harder.

Sara Chu, retired nurse Victoria