Family doctors talk research, job improvements at Charlottetown conference

Family doctors got a rare chance to connect with each other at a conference in Charlottetown on Friday.

"It's a good opportunity to just be together and learn, and to be friends," said Dr. Trina Stewart, a Summerside-area family doctor who was among those in attendance.

Stewart has been in practice for 25 years at Wilmot Medical Centre. These days she's in the process of creating a patient medical home in collaboration with Sea Isle Medical Centre.

"We're kind of working as a multi-site so that we can share resources and better offer more efficient, accessible service to our patients," she said. 

A widely acknowledged lack of resources has led the P.E.I. government to encourage patient medical homes like this. Stewart said the new model will let the two practices share patients, and ensure they can be seen faster by the type of health-care pro they need to see.

"You don't have to come to me for a straightforward nutritionist referral or a straightforward physiotherapy referral," she said. "You actually get that direct referral."

Stewart said she's happy to see the evolution of practices to include patient medical homes, because the workload can be challenging at times.

"It's hard for us to say, 'We can't take you,' when we really would want to," she said. "But we also can't do a disservice to the patients we already have by taking too many."

Almost 100 physicians attended the conference, including some from elsewhere in the country.

"We're really working hard across the country to try and increase the supply and support for family doctors across Canada," said Dr. Mike Green, a family physician in Kingston, Ont., who is also president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Green said he's heard a lot from doctors on the Island who are excited about the patient medical home model, something he expects will become the norm in five to 10 years.

"Everybody should be attached to a patient medical home," he said. "And all of those places should be places where they have learners, medical students, residents and other members of the interprofessional team like nurse practitioners, social workers, nurses."

Overall, Green said, the physicians he's spoken with are also eager to learn more about the new medical school being built on the UPEI campus in Charlottetown.

"I think the new medical school is a great idea; train your own is always helpful," he said.