$ 6 million a year revisited

AM and SAM Z

I am reposting this blog.  Originally posted almost two years ago, it was unintentionally prophetic.  As we approach a provincial election, it begs to be reviewed again.  The cut to physician's income is now at 15 %.  We are in the middle of a flu epidemic.  Your GP is working way beyond any healthy capacity.  The after-hours clinic manned by the doctors I work with is churning through over 30 patients in an evening with people lined up in the parking lot.   We are not reimbursed for this vitally important work.  Doctors agreed to this arrangement as part of the contract we struck with this government 10 years ago in good faith.

 I will write a future blog that outlines how they have illegally over-ruled that contract leaving all of us in a very unhealthy position.  A government that 'loses' billions of your dollars through mismanagement and recklessness and then cuts your health care ( hospitals, nurses, doctors) and your education system ( God love the teachers who have survived )in order to make up for what they have 'lost', should not be allowed to continue governing.  A government that uses deceitful tactics to make you think these beautiful front line folks deserve to be sacrificed does not deserve to continue governing.

I am not of any particular political persuasion.  I am an advocate and an activist for people who cannot speak for themselves.  I am now advocating for you and your health.  On June 7th, you will have a voice.  Let's use our voices very, very wisely.

April 2016- updated

How disappointing.  Ontario's Minister of Health stood up on a podium with a poster beside him today.  The poster announced that one doctor in the province made over $6 million last year.

Really?   Does the bloated salary of one doctor represent the average salary of your hard working GP?  Come on.  Your government wants you to believe that all doctors can afford more cuts to their income.  Apparently, the 7 % cut we have already taken is not enough.  They must have one heavy-handed agenda if they are resorting to misleading you in this way.

Let's put a dose of the truth out there;  no pun intended.

I BILL OHIP $470,000 /year

I CARE FOR APPROXIMATELY 2000 PATIENTS

I am an average GP

I WORK OVER 40 HOURS A WEEK

(well over 40 hours a week)

I EMPLOY 5 STAFF PEOPLE:
(at a cost of $250,000 annually)
A nurse, an office manager, two receptionists and a nurse practitioner.

We all provide care to these 2000 patients

RENT, UTILITIES, INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE, MEDICAL SUPPLIES....

I PAY A TOTAL OF $360,000 annually in expenses,

 and together, Ontario's Doctors employ a huge network of healthcare and administrative workers supporting a substantive economy 

THAT MEANS THAT AFTER EXPENSES, AN AVERAGE GP LIKE ME MAKES

$110,000 annually

Now pay Licensing Fees, medical education fees

and I am left with a grand total of....

wait for it.....

$100,000 annually

Subtract the taxes and RRSP's, remember docs do not have pensions or extended health care plans, and
I don't even want to know what the final tally is but it is less than your lawyer, your accountant, your dentist and most likely, less than the police officer who cruises your streets.

WHY IS THE AVERAGE FAMILY PHYSICIAN'S SALARY AFTER EXPENSES NOT ON THE MINISTER'S POSTER?

THE GOVERNMENT WOULD LIKE YOU TO THINK YOUR DOCTORS ARE FAT CATS.

More cuts to healthcare will be dangerous, very, very dangerous.

The minute we have to re-consider whether or not we can afford to stay in practice, your healthcare is in jeopardy.

Your healthcare is my responsibility.

I take that, very seriously

 WE ARE ON THE BRINK OF A SERIOUS DISINTEGRATION IN HEALTH CARE IN ONTARIO

And that doctor who bills the government over $6 million a year?  He should be thrown out of the province and his government should curb his income instead of making him their poster boy.

Unfortunately, that disintegration is well underway, as predicted.

Dr.Anne-Marie Zajdlik MD CCFP, MSM, Order of Ontario

Founder ARCH Clinic

Founder Hope Health Centre

Founder Bracelet of Hope

Thanks,
AM

Just an MD on the front lines of healthcare

I have tried really hard not to blog about this.  I hear a voice in my head telling me to suck it up.  I have a good job.  I love my work.  But, at this rate, no one on the front lines of healthcare will survive the onslaught of the ever increasing demands of an ageing population in the setting of shrinking health care resources and a government that doesn't give a damn about me or you or our health.

I now spend 10 hours a day at my job.  I work through lunch with no breaks.  I spend 3 hours of the day smothered in paperwork.  I could use those hours to see real patients but our professional lives have become overwhelmed by regulations and legislation.  Everywhere I turn, a new guideline pops up, smothering any creativity or intuition I once used to care for my patients.  Patients that once required 10 minutes of my time now need 30 minutes.  Don't get me wrong, I love my ageing patients.  Their complex health issues require all my intellect and problem-solving abilities.  That is exactly what I signed up for.  But, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up.

Today, I saw four people whose specialists have found ways to abandon the system.  I don't blame them at all.  It now takes 12 months to see a dermatologist, 6 months to see a psychiatrist (if you can find one), 8 hours or more, to see an emergency room doctor, 18 months to have a joint replaced and 8 months to be seen at a pain clinic.  Three out of 10 referrals I make come back with a notice that the specialist is overwhelmed and can't accept the referral.  My staff spends hours looking for alternatives.  They are as dedicated to their work as I am.  I have stretched and extended my scope of practice to make up for these deficits, ineptly trying to pull together the unravelling strings of an imploding system.  Your government is more than happy to leave me in this spot.  They have to pay that specialist five to 10 times more than they pay me.  Cheaper healthcare is their goal, not better health care.


Your average family doctor belongs to a really good bunch of people who set out to tackle a career that involves the constant care of others.  We love that work.  We love our patients.  We are deeply concerned about their needs and search for ways to meet them.  We care for our patients over the course of their lives.  We have the privilege of delivering their babies and watching them grow into adulthood.  I know the intimate details of the lives of 2,000 people and every detail is kept in strict confidence.  I celebrate with these folks and I grieve with them.  They bring me their greatest joys and their lowest moments.  Every day, thirty people need my full attention, 15 minutes at a time.  By the end of the day, I have made thousands of decisions that directly affect the health of my patients.   We become that unseen part of every family that is critical to their health and wellbeing.  I fully understand the weight of this responsibility and I carry it on my shoulders with great humility and respect.

But, you have a government that disrespects the health and well being of every person who works in this system.  If we can no longer manage, people will die.  It's as simple as that.

I don't know how to change this mess we are in.  I am too busy trying to survive.  There is no time for activism.  God help us when 8 million baby boomers become increasingly ill and frail.  That will finally sink the ship.  Reckless mismanagement will finally sink the system and people will die needlessly.  My guess is, they already are.