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Health & Healthcare

Primary care platforms

Here's what the 2023 PEI election parties are promising.

PC

  • Provide operating grants to establish Access Clinic Exam Spaces for pharmacists, physicians, and nurse practitioners to provide walk-in services

    "Working with communities and non-profit organizations, provide operating grants to establish Access Clinic Exam Spaces for local pharmacists, physicians, nurse practitioners, and locum physicians to provide walk-in clinics for routine, non-urgent matters" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Revise the medical fee structure to allow family physicians to provide additional walk-in clinic services

    "Modernize the medical fee structure so it is flexible enough to cover innovative arrangements for family physicians who want to provide access to primary care through walk-in clinics outside their existing patients" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Add 16 more Patient Medical Homes by the end of 2024
  • Implement a programme to connect family physicians directly with specialists, instead of having physicians make unnecessary referrals

    "Implement a Virtual Hallway program to connect family physicians with specialists for consults to avoid unnecessary referrals to specialists." — peipc.ca, 2023-03-10

  • Expand online tools like Skip the Waiting Room for booking appointments

    "Implement tools like Skip the Waiting Room across all areas of the healthcare system to reduce no-show appointments and provide patients with the ability to book their own appointments" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Allow people to access telehealth services at libraries and Access PEI locations
  • Expand the Charlottetown and Summerside Primary Care Access Clinics, and open new ones in West Prince and Kings County
  • Attach all patients on the Patient Registry to a Medical Home within the next 2 years
  • Launch walk-in clinics led by nurse practitioners
  • Create Mobile Primary Care Clinics
  • Add 100 new full-time positions supporting medical homes
  • Make virtual care apps like Maple free

Green

  • Add five new family physician residency spots

    "Increase family physician residency spots from 5 to 10, supported by new state of the art training technology at UPEI. Physicians tend to stay where they do their residency." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Use a proven electronic medical record system, integrated with other Maritime systems

    "Use a proven Electronic Medical Record system and work to integrate it with EMR systems in other Maritime provinces." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

  • Build a new facility for the Harbourside Medical Clinic in Summerside
  • Provide funding and flexibility to physicians to open medical homes or collaborative practices

    "Support family physicians to open medical homes or collaborative practices across PEI by providing them with the flexibility, support, and funding they need to succeed." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

    "Continue creating patient medical homes and neighbourhoods, with priority placed on those serving in rural areas. These would include primary care, mental health services, chronic disease management, physiotherapy, and other complementary care." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

  • Improve family physician salaries and supports

    "Review family physician salaries and supports in consultation with the medical community to make PEI more competitive with other Canadian provinces." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Open more walk-in clinics

    "Open more walk-in clinics, such as cough and fever, mobile blood work, and prescription renewal clinics." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Make virtual care services free, and consult with physicians on integrating virtual care into the health system

    "Give all Islanders free access to virtual care services when they need them. Consult with physicians on how to best integrate virtual care into our healthcare system.." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Immediately fund one additional support staff for family physicians and nurse practitioners who request them

    "Immediately fund one additional support staff for family physicians and nurse practitioners who request additional support. This may be in the form of a nurse, counsellor, medical administrator, admin support, etc., based on the needs of the practice." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Allow nurse practitioner-led clinics

    "Amend the Medical Act to allow nurse practitioners to work more effectively in a collaborative practice or to manage nurse practitioner-led clinics. Both will allow nurse practitioners to take more patients off the patient registry." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

Liberal

  • Use online tools to provide real-time wait time info for ERs, medical clinics, and other care settings

    "Implement online systems and booking options to provide Islanders with real-time information on wait times at ERs, medical clinics, and other care settings to enhance access to non-urgent treatments" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Fund physician access to digital health tech specialists

    "Provide physicians with access to funded digital health technology specialists to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of medical practices."

  • Create a new funding model to encourage pharmacy owners to be more involved in primary care

    "Develop a funding model that encourages and supports pharmacy owners to play a greater role in primary care delivery as well as incentivizes pharmacists to deliver expanded services." — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Expand the range of conditions pharmacists can diagnose and prescribe for, and programmes they can deliver

    "Expand the range of health conditions for which Island pharmacists can diagnose and prescribe in keeping with their scope of practice that reflects what pharmacists can do in the rest of Canada" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

    "3. Allow pharmacists to deliver the PEI Smoking and Vaping Cessation Program to allow more Islanders to access these critically important services;

    4. Allow pharmacists to deliver contraception management services on a fee-for-service basis to broaden the accessibility of these services for Island women;

    5. Allow pharmacists to play a greater role in chronic disease management, including blood pressure and cholesterol diagnosis / treatment and diabetes management;

    6. Allow pharmacists to serve as the primary location for vaccine services, including flu and Covid-booster vaccines" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Develop a digital medical specialist programme

    "Work with the PEI Medical Society, UPEI, and Holland College to develop a digital medical specialist program to help physicians with support to better manage administrative backlogs and inefficiencies" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Adjust fees and compensation for family physicians to make the career more attractive

    "Adjust fee structure/compensation models, so that family medicine becomes a more attractive career choice"  — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Temporarily add more walk-in clinics by incentivising physicians

    "Expand the volume of walk-in clinics on an interim basis by incentivizing physicians to provide these services" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Create "health hubs" where primary care teams would provide services

    "Establish health hubs where primary care teams provide services to individuals in their communities." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

Looking for the parties' positions on other topics?

See our full 2023 PEI election platform comparison