The number of doctors in Canada has been growing at a rate more than double that of the country’s population over the last five years, according to a new report.
Canada’s population increased by 4.6% between 2014 and 2018, while the number of physicians grew by 12.5% over the same time period, the Canadian Institute of Health Information data show.
British Columbia and Manitoba had the largest increases in doctors at more than 17% each.
Quebec had the lowest level of physician growth at 5.9%, just below the 6.5% growth in Nova Scotia.
Yet while the supply of doctors has grown faster than the population in recent years, many Canadians continue to struggle to find a family physician, said Geoff Ballinger, the institute’s physician information manager.
“Every year over the last 12 years, the supply of doctors in Canada has grown faster than the population,” he said.
“While we now have more physicians per person than ever before, many Canadians continue to report challenges accessing a family physician.
“This data can assist government health planners in understanding and aligning where physicians are with where there is the greatest need for them.”
The Canadian Institute of Health Information is an independent, not−for−profit organization that works with governments and stakeholders to gather and provide information on policy, management, care and research.
The report found that in 2018 there were almost 90,000 physicians in Canada, which is equivalent to 241 physicians per 100,000 population, the highest number per capita ever, said Ballinger.
Statistics Canada figures from 2016 show 15.8% of Canadians aged 12 and older, or about 4.8 million people, reported they didn’t have a regular health care provider.
The figures show Quebec, at 25.6%, had the highest proportion of residents who were without a regular doctor, followed by Saskatchewan at 18.7% and Alberta at 18%.
Ballinger said the higher figures were encouraging for patients looking for a regular physician.
"The issue that we don’t have a handle on yet is whether those increased numbers of physicians are perhaps in parts of the province where the greatest need is," he said.
"We are seeing across the country that patients do have an issue trying to get access to a physician, particularly patients more in rural and remote areas."
The report also tracked doctor incomes and found total gross clinical payments through medical plans was $27.4 billion in 2017−2018, an increase of 3.9% over the previous year, Ballinger said.
It concludes average annual gross clinical payment for a doctor in Canada was $345,000, ranging from $267,000 in Nova Scotia to $385,000 in Alberta.
