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Colleagues,
I hope that everyone had a safe weekend. My thoughts and thanks are with all of you who were on call, or otherwise working this past weekend. I hope you were all able to (safely) get some fresh air and refresh.
Meeting With Other PTMA Presidents
Yesterday, I (virtually) attended a Provincial Territorial Medical Associations (PTMA) forum, sponsored by the CMA. It gave me a chance to share information with all of the other PTMA Presidents.
It is of no surprise that the main topic of discussion was COVID-19. The two biggest concerns expressed by all Presidents was the lack of PPE and funding for work done by physicians during this time.
With respect to PPEs, the situation is unclear. All PTMAs report concerns about shortages and all have had concerns about the supply chain. The CMA has asked the federal government for action on COVID-19 (see their letter here). I thank them for their advocacy.
With respect to funding during the COVID-19 pandemic, Newfoundland has an agreement to guarantee a minimum of 80% of average monthly billings for fee-for-service physicians, so long as the physician is willing to step up and do extra work during the COVID-19 crisis. However, at this time no other province has reached an agreement with their physicians. There is a wide spectrum of tone in discussions with the governments, with Alberta’s clearly being the most acrimonious.
Our Negotiations Task Force (NTF) continues to advocate and negotiate for some form of funding for all physicians who are working during the pandemic. This may come as a staged approach, but we will advocate for everyone. I wish I could report today that there has been an agreement, but at this time, I am unable to report that. I will keep the membership informed.
Year II Retroactive Pay
You should all have your remittance advices by now. Please double check to see if you have gotten your Year II retroactive pay. This covers the period from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019. If you have a specific question about the amount, or how it was calculated, please contact the Service Support Contact Centre at 1-800-262-6524 or SSContactCentre@ontario.ca
Additionally, we have been informed that physicians who have group billing numbers received erroneous account information in the initial Remittance Advice. I understand that a corrected text message was sent via MC-EDT to all group billing accounts. Please look for that. My thanks to Dr. Sharad Rai for pointing this out.
MNP
Our CEO, Mr. Allan O’Dette, has a strong business sector background. Using his contacts, he was able to get MNP (one of Canada’s leading national accounting, tax and business consulting firms) to develop a physician friendly guide to the various supports and incentives being made available by the federal government.
The package cuts through the red tape and is an extremely valuable resource for identifying avenues of support that will immediately benefit you and your practice. Please download it here.
Remembering Dr. Guzman
Recently, I learned of the passing of Dr. Carole Anne Guzman, a pioneer in Canadian medicine. Dr. Guzman served as President of the OMA in 1989, and President of the CMA in 1991, becoming the second woman physician in history to lead both associations. Dr. Guzman also served as President of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. She provided great leadership and advocacy to the profession during challenging times, at both the provincial and national levels. Through it all, she is remembered fondly by OMA staff and colleagues for her integrity, modesty and compassion. My thoughts are with Dr. Guzman’s family.
COVID-19 Update
Last week was a hard one for the physicians and people of Ontario. Last Monday, we had 92 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units across the province, 62 of whom were on ventilators. As of this April 5, we have 216 COVID-19 patients in ICUs and 160 on ventilators. The surge has begun.
There are many victims of COVID-19
- the 94 people who have died from this so far in Ontario
- those who have had serious complications, and are slowly recovering
- friends and loved ones of those who died from this illness
But alas, there are also others who we sometimes don’t think of:
All of them, and many more, are victims of this terrible pandemic, and we must recognize, support, and help all of them, both now, and in the future, if we are to recover from this crisis.
And yet, in the midst of all this gloom, I am reminded of a quote from a young woman, who happens to be one of my heroes. Her name is Malala Yousafzai, and she wrote:
“We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage.”
Last week, we had more physicians than we ever expected offer to work in COVID-19 Assessment centres. Many more offered to work in virtual care clinics. Over 1,300 physicians have signed up for BookJane to offer help to areas that will need it. Physicians are organizing PPE drives all across the province (summary is here). Medical students are continuing to help out by providing childcare and grocery and coffee runs for health care workers.
And, despite knowing that 10% of the positive COVID-19 swabs in Ontario are from health care workers, physicians continue to provide care for our patients, and many are increasing their workloads. Retired physicians are coming back to help, and younger doctors are accepting temporary certificates of registration.
I’m the Medical Director of a nursing home. I have older family members and family members with chronic health issues. I’m scared. But all of your actions over the past few weeks have given me the courage to overcome my fear. I continue to be enormously proud to be your President at this time.
Ontario’s Doctors Rock!
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