Implications of new medical register in Atlantic Canada unclear, says head of NS medical college
The four Atlantic Region Physician Licensing Boards have agreed to create a single registry for physicians wishing to work across provinces. But the head of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia says it’s unclear how big the impact of the move will be.
The Atlantic Physician Register is expected to launch on May 1st.
The idea has been discussed for years to break down barriers for doctors who want to move to neighboring provinces. The announcement was made Monday after a Council of Atlantic Premiers meeting in Charlottetown.
“We’re talking about making it easier for them to intervene where it’s needed in other provinces,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said on Sunday. He called the current licensing system “an arduous, complicated process”.
“That will make it easier.”
dr Gus Grant, registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, said he’s glad the colleges have managed to create a single registry for doctors wanting to work interprovincially, but he’s not sure how many would use it.
“It remains to be seen to what extent this registry will facilitate mobility of physicians between provinces and throughout our region,” said Grant. “We’ll wait and see.”
“An added benefit”
Physicians must still apply for a license to practice medicine in their home province, but have the option of paying $500 more to be included in the regional registry. The college would then vouch for the work and competence of that doctor, which would automatically be recognized by the other colleges in the area.
“Our take is that for many physicians, particularly those whose practices have involved relocations across the region, this represents not only a saving in administration time, but also a saving in money,” Grant said.
He wasn’t convinced the change would encourage more doctors to leave their home province to help elsewhere, but he said travel might be more appealing to newer doctors.
“There are a significant number of physicians, particularly young physicians, who are interested in substitutions, doing substitution work and moving around,” Grant said. “So I think this will be an added benefit for a number of doctors.”
He said some border communities could benefit the most.
“[It] does not have to have large numbers to prove its worth. When there’s a weekend coming up when Amherst can’t keep its ER open and there’s a doctor in Moncton who would pull it up at the last minute, that’s a huge effect.
Physicians must continue to receive hospital privileges and billing codes from each province.
Nova Scotia has the most licensed physicians in the region at 3,000. There are 1,800 licensed physicians in New Brunswick, 511 in PEI, and 1,600 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Physicians new to a province would still need to deal with that province to obtain a billing code to be paid for their work, and would need to apply for hospital privileges to order tests and lab work.
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