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Update on Work of the Physician Resource Planning Task Force Technical Steering Committee

Physician Task ForceIn June 2012, the Conference of Deputy Ministers of Health (CDM) directed its Committee on Health Workforce to work with the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) to examine ways in which to advance Recommendation One of the Future of Medical Education in Canada Postgraduate Project Report, “ensure the right mix, distribution and number of physicians to meet societal needs.” The CDM established the Physician Resource Planning Task Force in the spring of 2013 to facilitate the collaboration and coordination of pan-Canadian physician human resources planning in support of the Deputy Ministers of Health/Deans of Medicine Working Group. The Task Force is co-chaired by Ontario and the AFMC, and focuses on advancing:

· a process for addressing physician imbalances across identified specialties;

· a pan-Canadian physician planning tool to better understand the complexities of physician supply; and

· accurate information to support decision-making by those considering and currently pursuing medical education, both in Canada and abroad.

As part of the Task Force work, a Technical Steering Committee (TSC), co-chaired by Ontario and the Canadian Post-M.D. Education Registry (CAPER), was created to oversee the development of a pan-Canadian physician workforce planning tool. The TSC is comprised of health human resources planning experts from Federal/Provincial/Territorial Governments and national stakeholder organizations. During its inaugural meeting on November 8, 2013, members discussed the broad parameters of the pan-Canadian physician workforce supply tool, and the anticipated inclusion of the needs-based component in future phases of this work. A project manager was hired in January 2014. The project team is currently engaged in developing a Request for Proposals to recruit an independent contractor to build the supply tool. It is expected that a contractor will be engaged in spring 2014 in order to: carry out targeted expert consultations; propose a tool development methodology; develop a supply-based pan-Canadian physician resource planning tool; and present the tool and its outputs to the TSC and Task Force in the fall of 2014.

 Authors:

Ms. Soma Mondal

Manager, Health Workforce Evidence & Innovation Unit

Health Human Resources Strategy Division

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

Co-Chair, Physician Resource Planning Task Force

Technical Steering Committee

 

Mr. Steve Slade

Director, Canadian Post-M.D. Education Registry (CAPER);

VP Data and Analysis, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC)

Co-Chair, Physician Resource Planning Task Force Technical Steering Committee