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home / 世界杯决赛2022

opinion: physicians need help

while some doctors have been treading water trying to get through, others are close to drowning, writes dr. susan tallow christenson.

by calgary herald

oct 29 2021
read time 3 minute read
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opinion: physicians need help
dr. susan tallow christenson, a family physician with the blood tribe department of health, says adding physician assistants to our health system's arsenal will help over-whelmed doctors get through the pandemic and beyond. david fuller / jpg
alberta’s doctors have been working tirelessly over the past year and a half. while some doctors have been treading water trying to get through, others are close to drowning.
i am a tribal member and physician who has worked on the blood/kainai reservation in southern alberta, since 2006. medical care here is in crisis. over the past year, 26 doctors have left southern alberta, leaving nearly 10,000 patients without care. i am dedicated to my community, and i am doing everything in my power to stay afloat. i am unable to find any physicians to assist in meeting the demands of this practice. despite my best efforts, i’m not sure how much longer i can carry on.
a beacon of hope would be accessing physician assistants. pas are advanced practice professionals who are educated in the “medical model,” which means their training is similar to that of canadian doctors. they work with negotiated autonomy under the supervision of licensed doctors to deliver primary, acute and specialty care in all types of clinical settings. this would provide physicians with needed supports to serve more patients, meet demand and provide them with better care. i know what a pa can do. they work seamlessly in a collaborative health-care team to support doctors. especially those in rural or remote areas. having access to one or two pas would literally save my practice, and likely many lives.
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the alberta medical association has supported the introduction of pas in alberta for more than a decade. the association has said that while pas can have an important role in urban environments, they have particular potential in rural communities where there are ongoing shortages of rural physicians and health-care team members that need to be addressed with comprehensive approaches to workforce planning.
the support is widespread. the blood tribe department of health ceo, derrick fox, would welcome utilizing pas who could help physicians meet demand for desperately needed clinical services in our rural communities. additionally, patrick nelson, the executive director of the canadian association of physician assistants, agrees that pas have made a positive difference in jurisdictions like manitoba. alberta is no different. investing in pas is a smart way to make every dollar in the health-care system go further, as well as increase patient care.
so, what is the holdup? with pas now regulated, the covid-19 pandemic highlighting the importance of investment in health care, and increased public awareness about health issues facing first nations peoples, shouldn’t governments be clamouring to help?
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regretfully, there are bureaucratic barriers to physicians like me getting support — predominately the ability for physicians to bill for salaried pa care or have their salary paid for by governments directly, instead of coming out of the physician’s budget.
not only are indigenous patients suffering because of this, but the mental health and quality of life of the health-care professionals in the area are as well.
so, what can we do? well, there are many ways to throw a liferaft into the situation. alberta health services can fund more pas in rural, remote and indigenous areas, the government of alberta can invest directly in funding positions, or even the first nations health authority can put their weight and support behind this issue.
we cannot afford to lose one more doctor in rural, remote and indigenous areas. the time to invest in pas is now. they can be the lifeline to help every physician in these underserved areas either sink or swim.
dr. susan tallow christenson is a family physician at the levern clinic with the blood tribe department of health.

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