(Doug Kobayashi, mayor of Colwood, B.C.) idea was straightforward. After talking to doctors in 2022 about what was important to them, many said less paperwork, more financial stability and a better work/life balance.
Kobayashi’s response: Make them municipal employees. This differs from the usual system where many family doctors in Canada are independent contractors and responsible for all aspects of the business plus seeing patients.
“As an employee, we want you to be a doctor 100 per cent of the time. No more administration, we’ll look after this. We’ll look after hiring your medical office assistants. We will give you a salary, a fixed salary. We will give you benefits, all the benefits,” Kobayashi said.
Doctors aren’t paid to answer your emails, sign paperwork or prescriptions while your not in the room, and if you are late or don’t show up they don’t get paid for the time you’re not there.
If you add in the fact that they are absurdly overbooked and have a business to run too, it’s easy to see that there are numerous problems to be be fixed. Being an employee, or them forming a union of sorts would be a good.
Additionally, if someone is dying on a plane, a doctor wouldn’t be covered by their insurance if they mess up a procedure on that plane. The doctor would be taking all of the risk.
Every job has unpaid aspects. How many jobs get to avoid income tax?