Despite complaints about difficulties accessing doctors, the latest statistics show that Quebec actually has more doctors per 100,000 inhabitants than the Canadian average – and that rate is growing faster than the population.
A report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information released Thursday showed that Canada had 84,063 physicians as of Dec. 31, 2016. That’s an increase of 2.3 per cent over the year before.
In fact, over the past five years, the number of doctors has grown at a much faster pace than the population, the Institute said in its report.
In Canada, there were 230 doctors per 100,000 residents as of Dec. 31, 2016, while Quebec had 243. Quebec was surpassed only by Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador , which had 258 and 248 respectively.
While this is good news, Charles Bernard, president and CEO of the Collège des médecins du Québec, said accessibility remains a problem in Quebec.
Bernard suggested there are a few reasons for this issue, in particular the organization of work. He is also advocating for better teamwork.
Read the full report:
