Doctors want the option to work across provincial borders – CTV
February 24, 2025
Doctors are calling on provincial and territorial governments to remove the “barriers” preventing them from working where they are needed in Canada.
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is highlighting the internal barriers that it says are preventing more patients from receiving care amid the shortage of family doctors and hospital staff.
The national advocacy organization for doctors says it wants lawmakers to update their physician licensing models as an “important step” to address the challenges facing the country’s health-care system.
Under the current system, most physicians face a “burdensome” application process and thousands of dollars in fees to obtain separate licences for each province or territory they want to practice in, the CMA said in a news release Monday.
Atlantic Canada already has moved to make it easier for doctors to practice across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, with the launch of the Atlantic Physician Registry in May 2023.
In October of that year, federal, provincial and territorial health ministers pledged to develop a new process for physicians in good standing to practise across the country “without significant delay or the need to meet additional regulatory requirements.”
Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/doctors-want-the-option-to-work-across-provincial-borders/
