Scapegoating doctors is not the answer in Ontario
Scapegoating doctors not the answer in Ontario, Dr. Adam Kassam says.
This week, like every week, my physician colleagues had the privilege of taking care of patients in need across the province. For me personally, this included helping an elderly grandmother who suffered a major stroke that left her without the ability to communicate with her grandchildren, a middle-aged husband who spontaneously broke his leg as a result of a newly diagnosed bone cancer, and a homeless refugee who was struck by a vehicle, causing significant brain injury.
This chronicle of care is the life’s work of dedicated, selfless and often sleep-deprived doctors from all corners of Ontario. It includes the only family doctor in a small northern rural community, the inner-city psychiatrist helping to combat the mental health epidemic, the local pediatrician educating new parents about the importance of vaccines and the busy surgeon operating on patients with debilitating arthritis.
It is why the recent publication of OHIP billings, under the auspices of transparency, fails to provide an accurate and complete picture of the value of physician care provided to patients. By merely offering monetary figures in isolation, the province reduces the delicate doctor/ patient relationship to the inadequacy of simply dollars and cents.
If the case to be made against doctors were simply about the numbers, here are mine. I am a 32-yearold son of immigrants. The last 15 years of my life have been part of a post-secondary education. I spent four years in college, four years in medical school, two years pursuing a master’s degree and five years in medical residency training. I have had to borrow over $200,000 to get to this point. This is the journey of the average Canadian doctor whose colleagues collectively see over 340,000 Ontarians daily. Importantly, these numbers don’t include the rising costs associated with running a practice, such as rent, hydro and staff.
This is not to say that the public shouldn’t know how its money is spent. As a taxpayer, I am invested personally in the notion of accountability, and any fraudulent behaviour should be rooted out and punished. However, trafficking in sensationalism and tabloid-style headlines has the potential to further erode societal trust in the health-care system at a time when it is increasingly in dwindling supply.
The publication of OHIP billings comes on the heels of the provincial government’s attempt to pass Bill 138, an omnibus legislation that includes a return to a draconian medical audit system.
In 2005, Supreme Court Justice Peter Cory described that process as having had a “debilitating effect on physicians of Ontario ... and a negative impact on the delivery of health services in the province.” By creating an environment of fear and intimidation for physicians, the Ford government threatens to cast a pall on the important working relationship between doctors and government, one that will be essential for the modernization of the Schedule of Benefits.
What is clear is that scapegoating is not a winning strategy to build the unity that’s required to improve health care delivery in Ontario. You can’t be pro-patient by being anti-doctor. A collaborative approach to reform, which doctors have continuously advocated for, is ultimately how we move forward together.
Dr. Adam Kassam (@AdamKassamMD) is a Toronto-based physician who writes about health care and public policy.