The federal, provincial and territorial health ministers are meeting behind closed doors here today. Among other items, the talks will include possible new funding for provinces ready to implement primary care reform. This time around, we're hoping for a better outcome. Primary care reform should be about finding ways to improve and renew the system. The CFPC, which represents 15,000 family doctors across the country, is particularly concerned that inflexible models will be imposed on patients and physicians, eliminating choice and ultimately compromising quality.
Every patient is different, and every doctor's practice is different.
The CFPC is particularly concerned about primary care delivery models which could interfere with the patient-doctor relationship. Recent College surveys have shown that more than 80 per cent of Canadians have a family physician, and the same majority are highly satisfied with this relationship. Family doctors work for and are accountable to their patients. Canadians do not want administrators telling them which doctors they're allowed to see or which services they can have, Dr. Newbery said. CFPC has been working for the past seven years on ways to strengthen primary care.