Docs sign funding deal with Manitoba government

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/08/2023 (797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Doctors have ratified a deal with the Manitoba government that includes $268 million in increased funding over four years for physician practices to help stabilize services and support recruitment and retention.

“The new (agreement) offers a significant increase in funding for medical services across the province, and that should mean better access to physician care for patients,” Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Michael Boroditsky said in a news release.

“There are funding increases to stabilize and improve medical services in many ways, whether it’s seeing a family doctor or visiting an ER, accessing surgical or diagnostic procedures, or accessing care in Winnipeg, rural or northern communities,” he said.

The deal includes increased funding for specialty and hospital services to help attract more physician coverage; a “game-changing” funding model for longitudinal family medicine that blends existing volume-based payments with funding for patient panels and time-based stipends, which will improve access to a family physician.

There are new rural and northern retention and recruitment incentives and additional funding to help stabilize physician coverage in rural hospitals and remote First Nations.

One of the features is a permanent funding model for virtual or telephone appointments.

Doctors who are currently practising will receive a retention bonus to recognize their continued service in Manitoba.

The government has promised to consult physicians before changes are made that affect their day-to-day operations, and to continue efforts to reduce administrative burdens.

“Our hope is this new agreement will offer stable, competitive and predictable funding that will help to address Manitoba’s physician shortage.”

Several issues were not fully addressed in the deal, including adopting more team-based care and involving other professionals in physician practices, Boroditsky said.

Doctor shortages in geriatric medicine, for hospitalists, and those working in remote First Nations still require attention, he said.

A Doctors Manitoba survey this year found 51 per cent of physicians are planning to retire, leave Manitoba or reduce their clinical hours over the next three years.

Two-thirds of physicians who own a clinic or practice said they are concerned about how to keep their clinic open if nothing changes.

“Our hope is this new agreement will offer stable, competitive and predictable funding that will help to address Manitoba’s physician shortage,” Boroditsky said.

“Aside from funding, the commitment to consult physicians about changes in the health care system and to continue to address physician burnout suggest the page is turning towards a more collaborative work environment, which increases satisfaction in our clinical work and is vital to retaining doctors in our province.”

The agreement was struck after nine months of negotiations and more than a year of consultations with physicians.

The previous agreement expired on March 31, 2023.

— Staff