Task Force Two:
A Physician Human Resource Strategy for Canada
Continuing the work begun by Task Force One, Task Force Two is now in the third and final phase of its plan: developing practical tools and human resources strategies to ensure Canada has the right number of physicians, working in the right places and in an optimal way to meet the needs of Canadian patients.
Task Force Two has now completed and published three major studies
about the current physician workforce and trends in the way medical care is delivered in Canada. A fourth study is nearing completion while a fifth is now underway. Together, the findings from these studies will help Task Force Two develop human resource strategies for physicians that address both those challenges we face today and those we are likely to face in the future.
The momentum continues to build as Task Force Two representatives travel across Canada , consulting with provincial and territorial governments and medical associations and licensing bodies. We are also actively reaching out to the healthcare community, presenting updates on our progress to stakeholders through our Physician HR Progress Report newsletter.
This collaborative effort brings together an unprecedented partnership of the major health organizations in the country, the Government of Canada, provincial and territorial governments and representatives from other health professions in Canada (i.e. nurses, pharmacists). Their goal: to gather information, assess relative merit and make recommendations on how to best ensure Canadians in all parts of the country have access to physicians with the necessary skills and knowledge to respond to the changing face of our healthcare system.
The work of Task Force Two is divided into three phases.
Phase |
Status |
Outcome |
One
|
|
A situational analysis reviewing health care delivery models, factors influencing the physician workforce and profiling the physician workforce |
Two |
Ongoing
To be completed
2005
|
- Validate the inventory of healthcare models through consultation with provincial governments, medical associations and specialty societies
- Complete the evaluation framework to assess models of healthcare
- Complete the occupational physician human resource data assessment
- Complete the healthcare model assessment
- Complete the detailed HR assessment on the implications of models of care
|
Three |
Ongoing
To be completed by Sept. 2005
|
- Complete strategy documents resulting from consultations and input from working groups and steering committee
- Distill working group reports into draft physician HR strategy document
- Validate the multi-stakeholder physician HR strategy
- Release strategy at national conference for final consultation and identification of potential next steps
|
|
Ultimately, a physician human resource strategy will benefit Canadian patients by enhancing the timely access to qualified physicians they can expect. The goal is to have enough of the right types of physicians and allied health care professionals working together in the right places to effectively deliver quality health care. Task Force Two is examining how that goal can become a reality.
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