Doctors speak of pressure, fear colleagues will leave over Health P.E.I.'s new targets

Family doctors on Prince Edward Island say new targets saying practices should maintain a caseload of at least 1,600 patients could lead to inadequate health care and drive some doctors out of the province.

Health P.E.I. recently introduced a new operational guide that also requires family doctors to see 24 patients a day, based on an average appointment being 15 minutes long. Financial penalties could be imposed if those objectives aren't hit.

"This is not possible to do, what they're asking," said Summerside family physician Dr. David Antle.

"People, including me, are already teetering on burnout and this will send us over the edge."

Antle said his schedule is already packed. He has 900 patients on his roster and he sees about 20 of them each day when working at the Summerside Medical Centre. That's in addition to emergency room shifts that doctors have to take on and the time it takes to review patient test results and consult with other doctors about care. 

Why some family doctors believe new Health P.E.I. targets will drive physicians away

17 hours ago

Duration 2:12

Family doctors on P.E.I. are worried about physician burnout and the quality of care they can provide. Health P.E.I. is proposing doctors should have at least 1,600 patients, and see 24 of them every day. Two family doctors, including Dr. Jeannette Verleun, weigh in about their fears and how they think the changes might impact Islanders. CBC's Connor Lamont reports.

"If this goes through — and it's going to be forced upon us with threats of potential punishment if you don't meet it — I can't provide the care that's needed for the patients I have. Full-stop. There's no way I can do it and there's no way my colleagues can do it." 

Dr. Jeannette Verleun, a family physician at the Montague Health Centre, is among those expecting to have to work longer days to keep up. 

If we burn out those who are trying to provide that care, it's only going to be worse for everybody.— Dr. Jeannette Verleun

"This is not going to attract doctors," she said. "We're going to lose doctors."

"I've already had some colleagues tell me they plan on leaving and that is only going to put more pressure on the rest of the system. And there's going to [mean] more unaffiliated patients, not fewer.

"If we burn out those who are trying to provide that care, it's only going to be worse for everybody."

Physicians out of the loop

Antle, who has been involved with a leadership group that represents doctors, said physicians haven't been given a seat at the table to discuss the changes. 

"I don't think we were fully in the loop. When we were invited to talk, I don't think we were fully heard and recognized for our concerns," he said. 

P.E.I. health minister ‘confident’ province, family doctors can reach compromise on workload targets

9 days ago

Duration 7:17

Health Minister Mark McLane responded for the first time to the legal battle brewing between the province’s medical society and the P.E.I. government over new targets for how many patients family physicians see per day. McLane tells CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin that the guidelines are still in draft form, and says he wants to work with doctors to resolve their pending legal challenge.

Antle said he's not against bringing in provincewide standards to improve care, but said physicians need to work together with health officials to come up with the right numbers. Some practices have sicker patients, who require extra care, and other doctors might focus on mental health or pre-natal care. 

"Everyone is different," said Antle. "Making a blanket target for everybody is not feasible. What we need to do is really dive into the data and then drive this decision from that."

'I want our voices taken into account'

The Medical Society of Prince Edward Island is already planning legal action against Health P.E.I. over the changes. It said it did not agree with the patient targets when it signed a physician services agreement with the province last year.

Health P.E.I. has said the society and its members have until the middle of July to look at the new guidelines and provide feedback. 

Standoff between P.E.I. family doctors and the province has physicians elsewhere in Canada watching

5 days ago

Duration 7:11

The dispute between the P.E.I. Medical Society and Health P.E.I. has caught the attention of doctors across the country. The College of Family Physicians of Canada says doctors are talking, and are disheartened by what is happening in P.E.I. CBC’s Louise Martin talks to college president Dr. Carrie Bernard.

But physicians aren't so sure the provincial Health and Wellness Department and Health P.E.I. are ready to listen.

Antle and Verleun said the messaging they've received suggests that Health P.E.I. has heard the doctors' concerns, but at the end of the day, the agency has the final say.

"I want to see true consultation," said Verleun. "I want to see that the voices of those of us who are actually working and seeing patients every day, 24/7, every day of the year... [are] taken into account."

What's next

A previous statement from the CEO of Health P.E.I., Melanie Fraser, said it is committed to making changes that deliver high-quality health care to all Islanders.

The health authority also said it's working with the Medical Society of P.E.I. and the province to "implement the physician services agreement in a way that supports physicians and strengthens our health-care system."

Antle said he's not sure what will happen after the consultation period, but he's not giving up the fight against the new patient targets.  

"My hope has returned, in a way, because I've seen how we've been rallied around by the people of P.E.I., by our colleagues in other specialties in medicine, by national bodies... It's really buoyed me with hope that maybe hearts can change and we can get somewhere."