Ensuring Patient Care - Ontario Medical Association 2020-21 Ontario Pre-Budget Submission

The OMA remains committed to working with the government to create a safe, efficient and integrated health-care system – one that continues to put patients first and ensures the health and safety of both patients and health-care workers. [...] It is in this spirit that the OMA provides the following recommendations intended to address the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate the growth of pre-COVID wait times. [...] The Ministry of Health and the OMA work together to ensure mechanisms are put in place to ensure a stable supply of doctors in hospitals to quickly deal with localized outbreaks, such as the July 31, 2020 expired mechanisms. [...] The OMA recommends the following supports to promote a healthy workforce ready to address the backlog of services to patients and able to continue to deliver quality services for the rest of the pandemic: 1. [...] The OMA recommends the following to blunt the serious negative financial effects of COVID-19 on the short-and long-term viability of thousands of medical practices operated by fee-for- service doctors across the province: 1.