Alberta doctors courted by other provinces as fight with UCP government continues

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — A new online poll of a large group of physicians across Alberta conducted by a Red Deer based doctor suggests they are considering all of their options ahead of health care funding model changes, including just walking away.

With a funding model change and some adjustments coming to the way medical clinics can be run, physicians in Alberta are starting to feel the pressure.

Red Deer based family physician Dr. John Julyan-Gudgeon conducted his own online poll with a Facebook group he says holds roughly 20 per cent of the 11,000 physicians in Alberta:

  • 1/3 are looking at changing the appointment durations
  • 25% claim to be getting offers from other regions
  • 25% are looking at dramatically changing medical practices away from the clinic model
  • 5% are considering retirement

Other provinces in Canada aren’t oblivious to the changes in Alberta either, with some provinces eyeing physicians here.

WATCH: CityNews’ Taylor Braat reports on funding model changes coming to clinics in Alberta. 

“There’s a sizeable chunk that are getting offers from other regions that are signalling they are more prepared to develop or nurture patient-orientated healthcare service or systems.”

Some of the provinces he’s heard are scouting include Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba.

He adds that on top of those that could leave the province, he knows of several other doctors who had plans to come to Alberta but have since changed their minds.

Physicians in Alberta are now planning action against the province, while others are considering other options, including leaving the industry altogether.

“Some people are going to go back to school, go in to research, some are entertaining ideas of going back to the military with their contracts, or RCMP, firefighters, northern ventures,” Dr. Julyan-Gudgeon said.

For him, the idea of having to leave the industry he’s dedicated his life to is incomprehensible.

“Does that mean I might leave? Gosh I hope not. I’ve spent 30 years in this province, my options just look bleak right now.”

READ MORE: Physician funding changes coming to Alberta

One of the biggest changes that has doctors up in arms is the province incentivizing doctors to see patients for just 10 minute appointments.

“We’re finding services being cut, we’re finding access is likely going to follow those service cuts,” Dr. John Julyan-Gudgeon said.

He says his patients will come in with a handful of problems that just can’t all be dealt within 10 minutes.

“As I see these changes happening, the emotional weight of this is enormous, I don’t know what I’m going to do going forward,” Dr. Julyan-Gudgeon said. “I don’t think I can serve my patients with 10 minute medicine.”

Health Minister Tyler Shandro fired back on Twitter back in December de-bunking the forced 10-minute appointment claim.

https://twitter.com/shandro/status/1207699663865835521

With just weeks to go before the changes are implemented, Dr. Julyan-Gudgeon is hoping to be able to sit down with the government and take another look at the options.

“They’re still a month away, there’s plenty of time for the government to come back to the table, to the negotiation table, to help us patient access,” Dr. Julyan-Gudgeon said. “Negotiate with us in good faith but let us help the system on its feet. We’ve been able to build a patient-oriented health care system, it’d be a shame if we had to take the patient-oriented element out of it.”

Along with industry professionals, Dr. Julyan-Gudgeon says medical schools are also going unfilled.

“We have 17 medical schools in Canada, and I think 170 family medicine positions went unfilled and so you would think the average would be 10 per university, per medical school, well Calgary doubled that. It’s the highest in the country, and the highest U of C has had gone unfilled in their program,” Dr. Julyan-Gudgeon said.

Meanwhile, the Alberta Medical Association is considering a number of legal actions against the province.

It is also considering launching a public campaign in the near future encouraging physicians and patients to take action with their MLA and the health minister.

Along with action from the AMA, Dr. Julyan-Gudgeon says some doctors are considering various ways of protesting the changes such as shutting down their clinic for a day.

To see the full list of proposed changes, head to the government’s website.

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