Ontario's family doctors could soon have a new compensation system. Here is how it will work
Ontario Medical Association CEO Kimberly Moran tells CTV News that negotiations on the new system are ongoing but that she believes a deal can be reached within months.
She said that while the matter is still under an arbitration board's review an agreement has already been reached with the Ontario government on 'most of the elements.'
The focus of the new system would be to pay doctors for the time they spend doing administration, as well as the time they spend providing medical care, Moran says. Right now, family doctors are not compensated for the time they spend working on administration or with specialists on behalf of their patients.
Instead, doctors operate under both a fee-for-service model, in which they are reimbursed under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) for every service they provide a patient and an enrollment system, in which they are paid a set amount per patient, regardless of how many times they see them.
'What this incentivized compensation model does is that it recognizes the work that's done by doctors that they have talked about as very challenging and that is a lot of critical administration,' Moran said of the new proposed model. 'It directly compensates that for them, so for example if you need referral to a specialization or if the family doctor needs to talk to your specialist about something, like none of that time is compensated. But now its going to be, so that's great.'
Ontario has long had a shortage of family doctors. The provincial government has pledged to make sure that every Ontarian has a family doctor by 2029 and Moran said she is hopeful the new system will convince more physicians to enter family medicine.
The OMA represents 31,500 practicing physicians in Ontario.
'The hope is that it will attract new physicians to the field, keep those who are practicing now and entice other doctors who have moved away from that kind of medicine back to practice medicine there,' she said.
Ontario is short on doctors of all sorts but Moran emphasized the importance of family doctors right now.
Right now, 2.5 million Ontarians are without a family doctor.
'What we wanted to do with this model was incentivize family doctors, those who have chosen family medicine,' she said. 'To have improved compensation is one of the ways we recruit and retain family doctors. It is going to be important over the next decade to make sure we have enough doctors through all of our specialties. But for this time, right now, where attachment to a family doctor is so critical, we wanted to focus here.'
Moran said that under the existing payment system doctors were not compensated for the total time they spent with a patient who may come in 'with four, five, six different things to do.'
She said that the new system 'means that if the doctor has to spend 45 minutes with a person who has lots of complexity, its going to be compensated properly.'
Minister of Health and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones was asked about the ongoing negotiations during an unrelated press conference on Wednesday but declined to comment, only offering that there were 'very positive movements' and that progress was being made.
'So, as we expand primary care clinicians, opportunities in communities, we want to make sure that those physicians, those clinicians, those nurse practitioners are well supported and we're doing that work with the OMA. I can tell you to date it has been very positive,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
25 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
DocGo (DCGO) Q2 Revenue Falls 51%
Key Points Revenue (GAAP) of $80.4 million beat analyst estimates by 3.6% in Q2 2025 but was down 51.2% year-over-year (GAAP) in Q2 2025, reflecting the planned wind-down of high-margin government contracts. Net loss (GAAP) reached $13.3 million in Q2 2025, with adjusted EBITDA turned negative at $(6.1 million) in Q2 2025 as profitability and margins compressed during the business reset. Management reiterated full-year guidance and reported operating cash flow of $33.6 million in the second quarter of 2025 and an increased cash balance as of the end of Q2 2025, highlighting progress in cost control and strategic shift toward payer/provider and transportation business. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › DocGo (NASDAQ:DCGO), a company specializing in technology-enabled mobile health services and medical transportation, released its second quarter 2025 earnings report on August 7, 2025. The headline news was a marked year-over-year revenue drop, driven by the planned exit from high-margin government and migrant service contracts. Revenue (GAAP) was $80.4 million in Q2 2025, surpassing the consensus GAAP estimate of $77.6 million, while the bottom-line result was a net loss of $13.3 million (GAAP), yielding a loss per share of $(0.11) (GAAP) compared to the expected $(0.10) EPS. Overall, margins and profitability declined as the business transitioned toward more stable but lower-margin segments. Despite these challenges, management reaffirmed its full-year guidance, underscoring efforts to ramp up transportation and payer/provider partnerships, and reported an increase in cash balances to $128.7 million as of Q2 2025, up from $103.1 million at the end of Q1 2025 as receivables continued to be collected. Source: Analyst estimates provided by FactSet. Management expectations based on management's guidance, as provided in Q1 2025 earnings report. About DocGo and Its Business Focus DocGo operates in the healthcare sector, delivering on-demand mobile health services, including in-home care and paramedic support, as well as non-emergency medical transportation. The company's platform combines technology, healthcare providers, and logistics to deliver care at patients' locations, streamlining healthcare access and cost. In recent years, DocGo relied heavily on large government and migrant-related contracts, which contributed high-margin, short-term revenue. With these winding down, DocGo's focus shifted to building out longer-term partnerships with health insurance payers and healthcare providers, and to expanding its transportation service contracts. Success in these areas will depend on the company's ability to scale up new business verticals, improve efficiency using its technology platform, and maintain compliance with complex healthcare regulations. Quarterly Review: Key Developments and Trends DocGo's second quarter results reflected a transitional phase. Total revenue (GAAP) fell 51.2% year over year, outpacing analyst estimates for GAAP revenue yet sharply down from Q2 2024 (Q2 2025 revenue was $80.4 million GAAP, compared to $164.9 million GAAP in Q2 2024), due largely to the wind-down of government and migrant services. Management explained, 'This decline was due to the planned wind-down of migrant-related programs.' The company had flagged this shift in previous guidance updates, removing government population health from its core outlook and resetting 2025 targets accordingly. Profitability suffered as the business mix changed. Adjusted EBITDA was negative at $(6.1 million), down from $17.2 million in adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2024, and the company posted a GAAP net loss of $13.3 million. Adjusted gross margin fell to 31.6%, compared to 33.9% (adjusted, non-GAAP) in Q2 2024. The company's cash flow from operations remained strong, generating $33.6 million, slightly below last year's figure but up from the first quarter of 2025. Cash and equivalents rose to $128.7 million as of the end of Q2 2025, helped by successful collection of legacy receivables from government contracts. Accounts receivable related to migrant work declined but remained sizable, standing at approximately $54 million as of the end of Q2 2025, which management expects to collect through year-end. Within business lines, transportation services proved most stable. Segment revenue was $49.6 million, up modestly compared to $48.2 million in Q2 2024, and management cited contract expansions, including a multi-year partnership with a leading New York academic medical system, with services launched after Q2 2025. This contract, supported by DocGo's software-as-a-service (SaaS) transportation management platform, is expected to boost trip volumes in the back half of the year. The mobile health segment—comprising in-home visits and payer/provider partnerships—generated $30.8 million in revenue, a steep drop from last year, as GAAP revenue declined from $164.9 million in Q2 2024 to $80.4 million. However, DocGo highlighted momentum in this segment's core activities: the number of patients assigned for care gap closure services rose from 900,000 in Q1 2025 to over 1.2 million, driven by new and expanded insurance partnerships. The company completed more in-home visits in the first half of 2025 than in all of 2024. Execution in payer/provider services remains a key investment area, with profitability expected to improve as scale increases and operational efficiencies are realized. SG&A (selling, general, and administrative) expenses continued to weigh on margins during this transition, but management initiated cost cuts and repurchased 2.5 million shares, making cuts to corporate overhead, resulting in an estimated $10 million in annual savings. Workforce reductions and further expense control measures are planned for the remainder of the year, aiming to support profitability in the longer term. Looking Ahead: Guidance and Risk Areas Management maintained 2025 revenue guidance at $300 million to $330 million, unchanged from the previous update. Adjusted EBITDA is still forecasted to be a loss in the range of $20 million to $30 million for the full year 2025. With another dip expected in Q3, and Q4 projected to be higher than Q3 but still below Q2 levels. The company aims for overall profitability by the second half of 2026, even without the contribution of new government contracts. Key watchpoints for the coming quarters include the pace at which DocGo can grow its payer/provider vertical, the ability to ramp margins in both mobile health and transportation, timely collection of outstanding receivables, and further reductions in SG&A costs. Any new government revenue or contract wins will be treated as additive and not factored into the current guidance. Management emphasized ongoing focus on technology upgrades, compliance, and operational scalability as critical for the next phase of business growth. Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,046%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
New residential addictions treatment facility planned in Hamilton following closure of safe drug use site
Social Sharing A new residential addictions treatment program will open in Hamilton after the province closed the city's only safe drug use site early this year. The program will be located at 276 Aberdeen Ave. and be run by the Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre (often called Urban Core) to support people "facing substance use challenges," it said in a statement posted to instagram on Wednesday. Residents won't be allowed to smoke or consume alcohol or non-prescription drugs. Details are scarce about how many beds will be available, when it will open, and how and if nearby residents and elected officials will be consulted and informed. It's executive director Sandy Ezepue did not respond to requests for comment. Coun. Maureen Wilson, who represents the ward it will be in, said she originally learned of the plan from city staff in the spring and initiated a meeting with Urban Core. Neither Urban Core nor the province has held a public information session, but flyers were handed out at a local street festival, taking residents by surprise and raising more questions than answers, Wilson told CBC Hamilton. "Some have questions, some have concerns and some have both and I think that's perfectly normal and understandable," she said. "I understand why they would be unhappy because there was no direct engagement." Urban Core had run the safe drug use site up until it closed in March, which allowed people to bring drugs to use in a supervised environment to prevent overdose deaths. The Ford government then selected Urban Core to run a Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hub to offer a range of other services. Among them will be the residential treatment program, said Urban Core. When asked for more information, the Ministry of Health directed CBC Hamilton to its Hart hub website and said it opened "as planned" on April 1. Overdose spiked in July: paramedics Hamilton Centre NDP MPP Dr. Robin Lennox said in an interview that while the hub may have opened then, it's still not fully operational. She said Urban Core is currently offering mental health and addictions counselling, case management, cultural programming, identification support, laundry services, meals and nursing staff from its Cannon Street location. The services aren't that different from what the community health centre offered before the HART hub opened, said Lennox, who got an update from Urban Core last week. She's also a family doctor who specializes in substance use care. Watch | How harm reduction is supposed to work: Drug users and harm reduction: How it's supposed to work 2 years ago Harm reduction services like needle exchanges and supervised consumption sites have been a topic of heated debate on P.E.I. CBC's Tony Davis talks to advocates and public health officials about what harm reduction is, and how those services are intended to work. "We really want to see a [provincial] opioid strategy that saves lives and allows people to access services they need when they need it," Lennox said. "For the HART hubs to do that, they really need to be adequately funded, rolled out transparently with good community consultation so people feel comfortable with the services, and we need to be able to measure their outcomes." The impacts of closing Hamilton's safe drug use site can already be seen reflected in overdose numbers from this summer, Lennox said. In March, when the site was still open, paramedics responded to 39 suspected opioid overdoses, according to city data. In April, once the site was closed, that number increased to 66 incidents. In July, paramedics responded to 134 suspected overdoses — the highest number since at least 2017, when the data recording started. 24/7 staffing planned Lennox has advocated for more safe drug sites, not less, because she said they save lives. She also supports more addiction treatment options like the program being planned by Urban Core. "I will also root for more access to treatment for people who want it in our city," she said. "The number of treatment beds is far below the demand." Wilson also supports the province funding more housing and health services, noting the "lack of investment" is clear across Hamilton, particularly the lower city. "My job is not to take a position on whether this is the right model," Wilson said. "My job is to ensure the neighbours get the answers to the questions they have." Urban Core said in its statement it recognizes the importance of "open and proactive communication" and will be attending events, knocking on doors and hosting an open house. The Aberdeen location will have staff on site round the clock, including security guards, nurses, treatment counselors, coaches, physicians and nurse practitioners, Urban Core said. It is working to get all zoning and building permits and Ministry of Health approvals needed to operate. The City of Hamilton said neither planning nor building division have received anything related to the address.
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Letters to the editor, Aug. 8: ‘Travelling our great country should be a must before one can claim to be truly Canadian'
Re 'The harm reduction approach should apply to tobacco, too' (Aug. 5): I smoked for years on and off before switching to vaping, which I stopped several years ago. We shouldn't just see it as harm reduction. There's certainly evidence that vaping is 'safer' than smoking. I still find it wildly irresponsible to say that virtually no one has died from it. Directly, maybe not. But in 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,807 cases of 'e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury' and attributed 68 deaths to it. Hardly 'zero, or close to it.' One feature of vaping may actually make it more dangerous than smoking: lack of consumption control. When I smoked, I knew pretty precisely how much I was smoking, and I could only do it outside. Vaping I could do pretty much anywhere, any time. I still have no idea how much nicotine I absorbed. That's the opposite of harm reduction. It's actually terrifying. Jade Schiff Ottawa We do not know how harmful vaping is. With tobacco, it takes decades for lung cancer to appear. Late into the 20th century, smoking rates were at about 50 per cent of the adult population in Canada and the United States. It took until the 1950s for doctors to document the harm; the long gap in causation was deceptive. Smoking rates in Canada have declined markedly to 12 per cent thanks to smoke-free spaces, high taxes, warnings and the advertising ban. In Britain, there is a bill before Parliament to get numbers down further by raising the minimum age to which merchants can sell cigarettes by a year each year – and creating a 'smoke-free generation' by stopping most young people from starting. And why would anyone believe cigarette companies that say vaping is safe? These very people denied any causal effect of smoking for decades. Lynn McDonald CM, former MP, author, Non-smokers' Health Act, 1988; Toronto Nicotine is not 'relatively harmless' as promulgated by the tobacco industry. It is more addictive than alcohol. It promotes cancer by angiogenesis (although it may not actually cause it) and has been banned as a pesticide in the European Union because it is too toxic for the environment – but not too toxic, apparently, for the human lung. Now sweetened, flavorful nicotine pouches are causing an increasing number of youth and children to attend hospital due to nicotine poisoning. If this is a relatively harmless drug, I would hate to see a toxic one. James Wigmore Forensic toxicologist, author, educator; Toronto As a retired public health nurse who has worked in the prevention of tobacco use and with cessation among people who want to quit smoking, I find this opinion a disservice to youth and the consequences of nicotine addiction. Once neuro pathways are developed in youth by consuming nicotine and other chemicals, they are in place for a long time. They make individuals vulnerable to every kind of nicotine, including the smoking of tobacco. Quitting smoking is difficult and there are aids for quitting besides vaping. However if we want to compare vaping to antidepressants as harm reduction, then at the least it should be by prescription only for individuals wishing to quit. Carol McDonald Ottawa I am all for harm reduction when it comes to the use of any addictive, potentially harmful substance. Far too often, blanket prohibition and abstinence-only approaches do not work. As for vaping as a harm reduction tool, I would add to the equation the importance of education around appropriate use. For instance, many people do not realize that some vaping products contain more nicotine than a cigarette. For longtime smokers wishing to quit tobacco with the help of vaping products, nicotine replacement programs in communities, at the least, could educate folks on how to use such products appropriately to meet their goals. A 'just say no' approach did not work for Nancy Reagan in the 1980s, and it most certainly does not work now. Jayce Sale Guelph, Ont. There is an assumption that people who use vapes would smoke cigarettes if it wasn't an option. As a high-school teacher for more than 30 years, it is my observation that smoking had almost disappeared from teen life before vaping brought it back. This is like saying it's fine to drink six Diet Cokes a day, at least it's not drinking six beers. I doubt that people who drink Diet Coke would replace it with beer if it didn't exist. Baruch Zohar Moncton Re 'How the 'discovery' of fentanyl changed North America' (Opinion, Aug. 2): Fentanyl depresses the respiratory centre while keeping the cardiovascular system stable. It has been an ideal intraoperative anesthetic agent for more than 50 years. A patient is sedated and unconscious with airway intubated, lungs ventilated and pain reflexes dampened. An awake person will stop breathing while conscious and die if the antidote (nalaxone) is not given or repeated until the drug is metabolized. I don't think fentanyl should be used outside of the operating room. I believe such drug dealers are guilty of murder or attempted murder. Elizabeth Oliver-Malone MD, FRCPC (retired); Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Re 'Home turf' (Letters, July 31): I emigrated to Canada from Britain in 1977 and promised myself then that I would see my new country. Little did I realize what that meant. I have since visited each province and territory several times, every major city and north of the Arctic circle. The education is priceless, the beauty astounding and the variety of landscapes, wildlife, cultures and attitudes reinforces what a massive country we live in. There are no ugly places, each represents its own history. Some have been more favourably endowed than others, but that is the beauty of living in a country still exploring itself, discovering what works where. Unless we visit and listen, we cannot begin to understand our country and our cultures, so different between urban and rural, between provinces and particularly between north and south. Travelling our great country should be a must before one can claim to be truly Canadian. Gordon Moore Toronto Re 'The biggest and quirkiest roadside attractions to see on your next Canadian road trip, according to readers' (Online, Aug. 3): No Wawa Goose? You snubbed the big fella and he is not pleased. Beware the wrath of his descendants next time you visit a park. Tom Driedger Toronto Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@
