Premiers plan to launch regional physician registry this spring
Atlantic Canadian physicians looking to practice within the region in neighbouring provinces won't be saddled with the same paperwork or additional licensing requirements as before due to a new registry anticipated to launch in the next couple of months.
The Atlantic Physician Register was one of the announcements on Feb. 20 from the Council of Atlantic Premiers meeting in Charlottetown. The council is comprised of P.E.I. Premier Dennis King, premiers Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador, Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick and Tim Houston of Nova Scotia. The registry, which would offer multi-jurisdictional licensing to improve physician mobility in the region, is anticipated to launch on May 1.
King, also the new Chair of the Council of Atlantic Premiers, said it was hard to say how many additional doctors P.E.I. could see working in the province as a result of the registry. But he did note that of the 40 new doctors recruited in 2021, over half did work in P.E.I. previously and then opted to come back.
"So, anytime there is mobility, especially for a small jurisdiction like Prince Edward Island, and I would say for all of our Atlantic provinces, that it really increases the opportunities for physicians to come here," said King. "Nothing that we do in health is a magic bullet that will just mordaciously fix everything, but I think this is just one small little thing that keeps us moving forward and will make a difference, not just today but into the future."
DOCTOR RECRUITMENT
The premiers also discussed foreign recruitment of health professionals and ways to expediate licensing for physicians who want to work in Atlantic Canada, said King.
Furey, also a medical doctor and orthopedic trauma surgeon, said that physicians travel all the time within Canada for work. He explained that, for example, if he went to Alberta to work as a locum, or a temporary replacement physician, it would take him a month to do the paperwork.
"We're trying to get rid of the paperwork element," he said.
Other topics that the premiers discussed included access to housing, regional air travel and the recent Bell 911 outage.
King also spoke about the $49 million in new increased federal funding for P.E.I. for health care. He said that funding will be used for continued investment in programs such as Pharmacy Plus, mental health and addictions, and health human resources.
"As most Islanders and Atlantic Canadians know, there's no end for the need of continued investment in health care," he said.