In many parts of Canada, there is a shortage of doctors. The New Brunswick Medical Society, for example, says the province has 39 vacancies for family physicians and 50 new positions are needed to meet demand. In British Columbia, family medicine is in “crisis mode” with shortages across the province, says Dr. Shelley Ross, cochair of Doctors of BC’s general practice service committee.
“We used to talk about shortages in rural areas; now it’s across urban areas too,” she says. “We are short 30 doctors just in Burnaby.”
But deciding how many doctors a region actually needs is a tricky business, says Arthur Sweetman, a health economist at McMaster University. Read more in CMAJ.