Health on the Hill: Health Canada is about to Turn the Doctor Shortage into a Doctor Crisis

Rather than aggravating the doctor crisis, Health Canada should be working to solve it.

This week, I listened to a friend describe how her doctor is abusive. She has to have her husband attend all visits to limit the abuse. She cannot change doctors as there is no doctor to change to. She is desperate for a second opinion but second opinions are becoming a thing of the past. There are simply not enough doctors for second opinions.

One of the health topics that became an election issue was the medical doctor shortage. According to the NDP, nearly seven million Canadians don’t have access to a family physician.[1]  Many Canadians who do have a family doctor find that their doctor is so overworked that they cannot get appointments or the appointments are short and rushed.

During the election, all three major parties committed to solving this real crisis. There were promises to hire more doctors, to create more medical school spaces, to make it easier for foreign doctors to work in Canada, and to make it easier for doctors to work across Canada. Even if these promises translate into real action, the doctor shortage is not going to be solved any time soon.  And there are health consequences to not having enough doctors.

Health Canada is about to turn the doctor shortage into a doctor crisis by getting rid of natural health practitioners such as Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, Homeopaths, and Naturopaths.

Health Canada is implementing a policy called the Self-Care-Framework. When fully implemented, we will lose most of our natural health practitioners. This year, new fees are scheduled to be implemented which will drive the main suppliers for Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners and Homeopaths out of Canada. Without natural remedies to use, these doctors will no longer be able to help us.

It is a guessing game as to how long Naturopathic Doctors and Nutritionists will be able to survive. For all of us the costs of natural health products will skyrocket, taking them away from low-income Canadians.

When we can no longer access our natural health practitioners, Canadians will have no choice but to see medical doctors. This will turn the doctor shortage into a doctor crisis. There are no medical doctors to see. There is no spare capacity in the system. When we can no longer see our natural health practitioners there will be a health crisis.

Health Canada should be doing everything it can to make it easier to see natural health practitioners. They should be doing all they can to reduce the costs of natural health products by reducing red tape. Costs for natural health practitioners should be covered under the Canada Health Act until the doctor shortage is solved. Rather than aggravating the crisis, Health Canada should be working to solve it.

^[1] https://www.ndp.ca/doctors-for-everyone