The doctors’ position

A number of Ontario’s top-billing doctors sent affidavits to the province’s information and privacy commissioner explaining why they are opposed to the release of physician-identified billings. Here are some of the reasons they provided:

“Gross billings do not at all reflect our take home pay. As small business owners, we have costs attributed to staffing, rental and high capital costs. Furthermore, we as physicians need to contribute and fund our own insurances (like disability) and retirements.”

“Making public the gross billing amounts of the physicians is a gross misrepresentation of the amount physicians take home as net profit. Personally I work in 2 large group practices with 30+ staff. The overhead to run such a practice is in excess of 40% of gross billings.”

“My billings are the result of providing care to a large population of (a) community. I do not take days off in the week . . . On average, I see 100 patients a day, which is 4-5 times more than the average family doctor. I invested heavily in diagnostic equipment and lasers. In most communities, these lasers are based in the hospital and paid for by the government.”

“There is a level of trust between (patients and physicians). Disclosure of such personal information may affect that trust and negatively impact the patient-physician relationship.”

“This is a gross invasion of privacy. It supplies a valuable target for crime and mischief whether at my own home or through fraud, network hacking or other such means.”

“Everything should be done to protect the hard working doctors so that they do not become a target of terrorist activity. . . . I definitely do not want my family to be harassed by terrorists or anybody else; for example, my family members could be kidnapped and asked for ransom.”