This cycle must be halted. The CMA has been addressing the issue of physician recruitment and retention for over ten years. What has been seen as a problem primarily for rural areas is now been felt in urban areas. We do know many of the obstacles to retaining and recruiting physicians in rural areas. First any solution must be designed with the specific community in mind.
Compensation Let s look at compensation and how physicians want to be paid.
A blending of fee for service and salary may be the answer for others. Obviously tangible reasonable compensation is a necessity. But let s keep an open mind today to the form that compensation might take, and be willing to be flexible when situations require. Professional support Advances in information technology are helping us here. Telemedicine and telehealth can be invaluable in delivering ongoing education and CME to physicians and providing health information to consumers.