Report finds Atlantic doctor registry has had little impact on access to care

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes ago

A caller study looking into the effectiveness of the Atlantic Physician Register since its motorboat 2 years agone says it has not substantially improved entree to wellness attraction successful the region.

The registry was designed to marque it easier for doctors to enactment crossed the 4 Atlantic provinces by allowing them to practise anyplace successful the portion without further licensing requirements.

Doctors tin opt into the registry astatine an yearly interest of $500, which gives them much state to transverse provincial borders to work.

However, the study — requested by the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC) and conducted by researchers astatine Laurentian University — recovered that lone astir 417 of the much than 5,500 physicians who were eligible signed up.

On Prince Edward Island, conscionable 36 doctors participated.

The study described this level of uptake arsenic "modest."

Impact connected doc mobility

Dr. George Carruthers, registrar for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of P.E.I., acknowledged that the registry did execute co-operation among the region's aesculapian colleges by streamlining licensing processes and gathering trust.

However, helium said that erstwhile it comes to doc mobility wrong Atlantic Canada, the portion is simply a closed system.

"There's lone X fig of physicians successful the Maritimes, successful Atlantic Canada, and truthful moving them around — if you're moving successful Charlottetown, you determine to spell to Amherst, past you're not moving successful Charlottetown," said Carruthers, who's besides president of FMRAC.

"It proved the constituent of co-operation and spot and understanding, simplifying process, reducing fees, but from a mobility constituent of view, and other care, [it] astir apt didn't amusement arsenic overmuch arsenic immoderate radical had hoped."

P.E.I. has astir 500 licensed doctors, and astir 20 off-Island physicians obtained licenses done the registry to practise here. Carruthers said he's not alert what those 20 radical specifically do — ER shifts, specialty enactment oregon virtual care.

"If you're a diligent who is receiving attraction from somebody, it's significant. But I don't deliberation it was the numbers that we wanted to see, you know, successful presumption of bigger numbers," helium said.

In total, 35 doctors from extracurricular P.E.I. practised successful the state during the clip studied by the researchers, though immoderate had already been moving locum shifts earlier the registry was introduced, helium added.

Administrative barriers remain

The study besides recovered that portion the registry simplified the licensing process, it did not destruct different administrative hurdles for doctors moving to a caller province.

Some of the physicians said they withdrew from the process aft learning it merely streamlined licensing, calling it "false advertising."

Carruthers said that beyond licensing, doctors inactive request to spell done a fig of steps.

"Through the wellness authority, done Health P.E.I., they person to get privileged, credentialed, they person to get their Medicare numbers, their billing numbers, they person to get their positions. So there's galore layers," helium said.

Additionally, the study shows that galore physicians invited to enactment successful the survey were unaware the registry adjacent existed, contempt promotional efforts by aesculapian colleges, aesculapian societies and provincial governments.

Improvements proposed

The study makes a fig of recommendations, specified arsenic reducing administrative and outgo burdens for doctors seeking to enactment successful aggregate provinces, arsenic good arsenic creating a centralized hub for accusation astir the registry.

"We've got enactment to do, and we're not going to scrap it, but I deliberation we conscionable turn connected it," Carruthers said.

In a statement, the P.E.I. Department of Health and Wellness acknowledged that portion the Atlantic registry is simply a measurement toward streamlining doc licensing, further improvements are necessary.

"We are actively engaged successful discussions astir imaginable options for different professions regarding interprovincial licensure and registries," the connection reads.

"We are grateful to our aesculapian regulatory bodies for their ongoing efforts and expertise, and we volition proceed to enactment intimately with them to guarantee the Atlantic Registry evolves to conscionable the needs of some physicians and patients."

Carruthers said portion determination whitethorn beryllium involvement successful a nationalist attack to multi-jurisdictional licensing, improving entree to wellness attraction requires much than conscionable streamlining mobility.

"We're a fixed number, whether it beryllium the Atlantic provinces oregon nationally. So we conscionable request different options to bring much health-care providers into the system."