Losing patience
Patients of Dr. Paul Cusack frustrated at lack of access to their family doctor
The labour shortage affecting many businesses in P.E.I. and around the world appears to have hit a local doctor’s office where patients have been waiting for months to get in.
Carl Rooth and his wife, Jan, have been patients with Dr. Paul Cusack for more than a decade, but when Carl emailed to make an appointment in mid-october, he was surprised to get an automatic reply.
“I am currently without admin support. As such, I am unable to properly run my practice,” read the email. “I am working with Health P.E.I. to come up with a solution, but this will take time.”
The email also noted that Cusack will continue to refill prescriptions but advised his patients to visit a walk-in clinic if they need to be seen.
“I was just trying to book my annual physical later in December,” said Rooth.
The situation has been the same since the summer, said patient Ron Zakar.
Zakar is also becoming frustrated at the lack of access to his primary care physician. He has been seeing Cusack for a long-term issue and was hoping to have been referred to a specialist by now, but without Cusack in the office, Zakar doesn’t know if that has happened.
“I find it really hard to believe three months to find someone. Come on, that’s just ludicrous. And what happens then is all of Dr. Cusack’s patients … get dumped into having to go to walk-in clinics.”
Neither the Rooths nor Zakar criticized Cusack, however.
“He’s a really good guy, he’s just caught in this circle,” said Carl.
“If the system’s not working, it needs to change,” said Jan. “It’s been months now.”
RECEPTIONIST ROLE
The email left the patients with the impression that Health P.E.I. is responsible for hiring a replacement, but when Saltwire Network contacted the department, it said that’s not the case.
“Not all physicians’ offices have Health P.E.I. staff. It depends on the funding model,” said the email from Health P.E.I.
Different funding models have different responsibilities regarding staffing. A salaried doctor is provided with human resource support from Health P.E.I., while a doctor in a private clinic, like Cusack, is responsible to hire their own staff, including a receptionist.
Cusack did not return phone and email messages left by Saltwire Network to elaborate on his situation.
The Medical Society of P.E.I. said it is aware that some offices are having trouble finding staff and that its members value medical receptionists and the role that they play in ensuring a practice runs to its full potential.
“It takes a lot to run a medical practice, and support staff, including medical receptionists, are instrumental to a practice’s success. Without the support of a full medical team, it is challenging for a physician to provide adequate patient care,” said a statement from president Dr. Padraig Casey, sent Nov. 14.
HEALTH P.E.I.
Dr. Laura O’connor, medical director for Queens County Primary Care, echoed the importance of medical receptionists.
“We can’t do our jobs without them, they’re just so key,” said O’connor in a phone interview with Saltwire Network on Nov. 14. “They’re really that front-end triage for us.”
The medical receptionist is the first person the patients see at the office and is responsible for everything from filing and faxing forms to following up on referrals, calling patients with test results and “just tons of paperwork type follow up.”
Often medical facilities have an internal network of staff who can fill in for each other, but finding a person to cover a practice full-time, like what Cusack requires, would be harder, said O’connor, adding it’s hard to find staff.
“It’s like the whole world is short-staffed, and it applies just as much to us as it does to restaurants and you name it. It’s a tough job and they face criticism. And they face people who are suffering,” said O’connor.
These needed competencies cannot be learned in a day, she added.
A medical secretary certificate is common but not essential to work in a private clinic, she said, but a willingness to learn medical terminology and being detail-oriented and organized with strong interpersonal talents are critical.
“People present to the family physician’s office – sometimes for just a checkup – but
“You have to be discreet; you have to be very caring, compassionate and empathetic, so it takes a special person to do that.”
Dr. Laura O’connor
a lot of times when they’re going through something really difficult, and emotions can run high. You have to be discreet; you have to be very caring, compassionate and empathetic, so it takes a special person to do that,” said O’connor.