Almost all doctors in Canada support moving to pan-Canadian licensing: survey
Global News
Almost all doctors in Canada support changes to medical licensing that would make it easier for health workers to see patients anywhere in the country, according to a new survey.
Almost all doctors in Canada support changes to medical licensing that would make it easier for health workers to see patients anywhere in the country, according to a new survey.
The Canadian Medical Association online survey of more than 5,000 working and retired physicians and medical learners found 95 per cent would like to see a pan-Canadian licensing program adopted in Canada. The survey was conducted between Nov. 18 and 30, 2022.
A significant majority of respondents agreed that streamlining credentialing of doctors so that only one medical licence is needed to practise medicine anywhere in Canada would improve access to health care in rural and remote communities and would allow for greater use of temporary replacements for physicians, such as locums.
It would also make Canada more attractive for internationally trained medical graduates who may relocate to Canada to practise medicine, the survey found.
With Canada’s health-care system experiencing considerable strain due to a nationwide shortage of health workers, it’s never been more important to find ways to attract more physicians to Canada and make it easier for all doctors to go to where patients need them most, says Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Medical Association.
“We know we have a challenge with numbers (of health workers). We also know that we have a challenge with distribution,” Lafontaine said in an interview with Global News Monday.
“Pan-Canadian licensure is a direct way of freeing up worker mobility.”
Currently, physicians are required to have individual medical licences in each province or territory in which they practise.