The Doctor Drain: Family physicians in this province aren't poor, but they're not exactly getting rich — particularly, given the workload, pressure and uncertainty of running what is effectively a business.

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By any measure, Ontario is in the midst of a full-blown family doctor crisis as a growing number of physicians flee the practice, leaving millions of people without access to primary care. There are multiple reasons for the exodus, but doctors say the key ones include poor pay, the rising cost of business, burdensome paperwork and high workloads.

But there is more to it than that. Family doctors say everything about the practice today is so stressful that the job is no longer as fulfilling as it once was. “Even though I really love it, I can see how if I was at the other end of the spectrum as a graduate, I may not choose it knowing what I know now,” says Ottawa family doctor Michael Yachnin, a 40-year veteran.

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“Family practice is more challenging and less satisfying today. Some of the things that provide superior care are not possible.”

Family doctors play an invaluable role in our lives. They are the people you see at the first hint of illness. They follow a patient’s life cycle — often multiple generations of families — and their role in early diagnosis, treatment and management of chronic diseases prevents the onset of more serious illnesses, saves lives, and reduces costly emergency department visits and hospitalizations. They are health care’s best assets, yet most feel poorly compensated and unappreciated by government.

In family practices, which are run as small businesses, doctors not only have to concentrate on patient care, they must be good business managers. Many are finding the combination so hard to maintain, they are walking away. Toronto Liberty Village family doctor Nasimeh Rakhshani says her clinic desperately needs nurses and other staff, but........

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