Quebec GP org wants to correct the ‘negative and devaluing’ portrait of family medicine

A few weeks after the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) received an initial framework agreement offer described as “meagre,” the province's François Legault government is proposing “to introduce recognized performance indicators and incentives when objectives are reached, or penalties if they are not.” In other words, it wants to link the remuneration of family doctors to their results in terms of patient satisfaction, the time it takes to obtain a medical appointment, or the care of vulnerable patients. The FMSQ framework agreement governs, among other things, the remuneration of specialist physicians, and has been under negotiation since the last agreement in expired in April.The FMOQ reacted immediately to this announcement, holding a press conference in Quebec City to correct the “negative and devaluing” portrait of family doctors, who suffer when, “there is use, whether intentional or not, of erroneous data,” according to a press release issued simultaneously.“Whether it's about the time they devote to their work, their remuneration or their availability to meet patients, the reported comments do not reflect their reality,” said the FMOQ, drawing on data from its economic team. Does the data overestimate the number of Quebec’s GPs?In addition to the 15 million appointments offered in clinics, the FMOQ emphasizes the hospital practice of general practitioners. “More than 6,000 family doctors work in institutions, 1,500 in long-term care centres and 2,000 provide end-of-life care,” said the press release, indicating that Premier François Legault continues to point the finger at certain doctors who, in his opinion, are not caring for enough patients. FMOQ economists attacked the data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) on which Quebec relies. They claim that CIHI overstates the number of family doctors practising in Quebec by 1,382. “For example, their model is based on seven- or eight-hour days, whereas our doctors often work 10- to 12-hour days,” added the press release. What's more, the official statistics don't take into account atypical schedules and the volume of on-call duty: “More than half a million on-call shifts are not taken into account” in Quebec.The FMOQ reports in 2024 that 9,887 family doctors are in practice, 22% of whom are aged 60 or over. It suggests there to be a shortage of more than 1,500 general practitioners in the province. As for the workload of family doctors, their federation reports an average of 223 RAMQ (insurance-covered) days per year—compared to 180 counted by Quebec according to La Presse newspaper. The FMOQ also reports 25% more administrative work and 50 hours of more of continuing education each year. While the government points the finger at doctors who work too much part-time, the FMOQ lists 3,093 doctors who bill the RAMQ for fewer than 175 days a year, and specifies that these are practitioners on short or long-term disability, beginners, on maternity leave, in walk-in clinics and in the emergency department. Finally, the average real gross income of general practitioners in Quebec is $330,313, “below the Canadian average and below the Ontario average,” argues the Federation, which is calling for a pay catch-up.“Now that it has been demonstrated that family doctors in Quebec are dedicated to caring for Quebecers, in both office and hospital settings, the FMOQ calls on its interlocutors, if they sincerely wish to improve health services, they need to correct their rhetoric, use reliable data and stop devaluing family medicine specialists,” concludes Federation president Marc-André Amyot, quoted in the press release.This article has been translated from its original French and first appeared on our sister site Profession Santé.

Quebec GP org wants to correct the ‘negative and devaluing’ portrait of family medicine

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