Doctors’ salaries in Ontario increased by $4.3 billion over a 17-year span, according to a new report released just as the provinces doctors get ready to begin contract negotiations
Ontario’s 25,000 doctors received $8 billion — or 20 per cent of the health budget — in 2009-2010, an Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences study found.
That is more than twice the amount — or a $4.3 billion jump — than what they received in 1992-1993.
By far, the largest increase in payments over 17 years went to family physicians and general practitioners. They received $1.5 billion more, followed by anesthesiologists who saw a $298 million pay hike and radiologists at $294 million.
The Liberal government dramatically increased doctors’ salaries to stop physicians from fleeing Ontario for more lucrative locations, and to help drive down wait times for certain services, Health Minister Deb Matthews said on Tuesday.
But those improvements are largely finished and now it is time to exercise fiscal restraint as the government battles a $16 billion deficit, Matthews said. An influential report on cost-cutting by TD economist Don Drummond will be released on Feb. 15.
In the next few weeks, the province will begin contract negotiations with the Ontario Medical Association and the government is “not looking at increasing” payments, she added.
“I believe doctors are actually better positioned than anyone to understand what the challenges are in health care,” she said. “The doctors I talk to see the need in other parts of the health-care system and would not put physician compensation at the top of their priority list.”
However, the OMA says while it is true physician payments are approximately 20 per cent of health costs, that’s the same as it was 20 years ago. By comparison, spending on drugs has almost doubled.
The OMA and the province have a long history of building the health system and recently the government has made key investments in reducing wait times and expanding primary care, said Dr. Stewart Kennedy, president of the association.
“The ICES report clearly indicates that funding enhancements by the government to improve wait times for certain procedures such as cancer care, cardiac care, cataract surgery, and hip and knee replacements resulted in a significant increase in the number of services provided by radiologists, oncologists, orthopedics and ophthalmologists,” he said.
With respect to expanding family doctors services, the report also shows improvements helped stop practitioners leaving the province and more patients are receiving treatment as a result, he said.
The ICES report shows in 2009-2010 the highest payments to doctors went to those in surgical, diagnostic and medical procedural specialties, such as radiologists, and the lowest payments went to those in non-procedural areas such as emergency medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry.
“When we were elected in 2003 we had serious problems retaining doctors and getting new doctors to go into the fields we needed them,” said Matthews. “Ontario doctors weren’t faring as well as doctors in other parts of the country. As a result we were losing them.”
It was important, then, to address the access and supply issues, said Matthews.
The next phase is to ensure taxpayers receive value for money and that doctors cover areas of need such as homecare, community care and keeping seniors at home longer, she said.
“We do have to make trade-offs now. There is a finite amount of money we can spend on health care,” she said. “The trade-off is pretty clear — a 1 per cent increase in physician compensation can provide homecare for 30,000 seniors.”
ICES is an independent, non-profit think tank.
With files from Robert Benzie
========================================================================================================
Do think they should get so much money. what do you think.
willy
RICH GET RICHER DRS
