An announcement last week of $20 million in stabilization funding for family physicians is recognition that family medicine is in dire straits but provides hope that fundamental changes to physician compensation are coming, according to Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) president Dr. Annette Epp.

The funding was announced by Health Minister Everett Hindley on Friday, Nov. 3, at the 2023 Representative Assembly (RA) in Saskatoon.

“We are very grateful that Minister Hindley has announced $20 million in stabilization funding,” said Dr. Epp at the RA. “Family medicine is in very dire circumstances. The funding is a meaningful first step toward a final negotiated agreement for all Saskatchewan physicians, which includes a new payment model for family physicians.”

The SMA’s advocacy was instrumental in securing one-time stabilization funding to provide a measure of financial relief for fee-for-service community-based family physicians who face ever-rising overhead costs in their clinics. Licensed fee-for-service physicians – both full and part time – will be able to apply for up to $40,000 per family physician. The SMA and Ministry of Health staff are working on the funding’s parameters and disbursement approach. The SMA aims to provide more details in the coming days.

“There are many other issues in medicine in Saskatchewan, but at the forefront are the challenges facing family medicine,” said Dr. Epp. “These challenges not only affect physicians in their daily lives, but also the citizens of this province. We’re very concerned about providing health care to rural Saskatchewan. We know that there are many people who do not have a family physician and we know that the family medicine model needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.”

“Timely and local access to a family physician is extremely important to Saskatchewan families,” Minister Hindley said in a Ministry of Health news release. “We appreciate the ongoing efforts of Saskatchewan’s family doctors and their ability to provide quality care to patients in their communities. We are in a competitive environment with other jurisdictions to attract and retain family physicians and this funding will help our efforts to keep our doctors here.”