Les Jones: Ontario's Doctor Shortage

September 27, 2005

Health Care > Ontario's Doctor Shortage

Not enough physicians in Ontario, via Ace of Spades. "Ontario is short almost 2,200 physicians, leaving almost 1.2 million patients without access to a doctor." To put those 1.2 million patients in perspective, Ontario only has 12.4 million people. So 10% of the population lacks physicians, and Ontario is growing. From the Ministry of Finance: "The population of Ontario in the reference scenario is projected to grow by 32.6 per cent or 4 million from an estimated 12.39 million on July 1, 2004 to 16.43 million on July 1, 2031."

Will Ontario be able to produce enough doctors to care for its rapidly growing population? The new medical school in that first link will only produce 56 doctors in its first class. Too, many of them will realize that they can make more money in the US free market healthcare system than they can make in Canada's state-run system.

And that's probably why Ontario is short of doctors to begin with. The worst effects of socialized health care won't be obvious at first. It starts when a bright high school senior decides to not pursue a medical career. Why subject yourself to long years of difficult studies, massive medical school loans, and the delayed entry into the workplace in order to take what is essentially a government job with limited income potential. It would take that student a a decade to become a doctor. That's how long it takes for the doctor shortage to begin, and if I'm right it will just get worse as time goes on.

Posted by lesjones | TrackBack

Comments

People who are motivated by a desire to ease human suffering should attend medical school, people who are motivated by a desire to become rich should attend business school.

Doctors who leave Canada in order to make more money, have chosen the wrong career.

Remember when doctors were RESPECTED for their devotion to humanity?

Posted by: timmy at September 27, 2005

A person can want to help people, but also want to be fairly compensated for their work. History shows that the free market is much better at setting prices than committees.

Posted by: Les Jones at September 27, 2005

Canadian doctors are very well paid, taking home six figures or better. But Canadians cannot outbid Americans for scarce medical resources, simply because America has more money. I would rather live in a country where everyone has adequate health care than a country where the very rich have the best and the very poor have substandard health care. To the doctors and nurses who leave Canada, I say good riddance and by the way, you owe the taxpayers millions of dollars for your subsidized education. BTW, I recently read where many doctors are returning to Canada after having had a bellyfull of the American way.

Posted by: timmy at September 28, 2005

"I would rather live in a country where everyone has adequate health care than a country where the very rich have the best and the very poor have substandard health care."

It would be nice. Two questions: how do you pay for it, and how do make sure that you don't wind up with a system where everyone has substandard healthcare?

Posted by: Les Jones at September 29, 2005