P.E.I.'s new agreement on doctor workloads gets pushback from family physicians
77% of doctors surveyed believe workloads may drive physicians out of P.E.I.
Family doctors in Prince Edward Island say the latest agreement on how many patients physicians should handle will drive some of them out of the province.
The agreement between the Medical Society of P.E.I., the provincial Department of Health and Wellness and Health P.E.I. was announced in December. It focused on workloads and targets for doctors, allowing some to have fewer patients.
The three parties considered the agreement to be a win at the time — but the P.E.I. College of Family Physicians did not.
The college laid out its concerns in a letter this week, saying the workloads could have a negative impact on patient care.
In the letter, college president Dr. Trina Stewart said 77 per cent of doctors who responded to a recent survey believe the new agreement will drive doctors away from the province and that many were considering changes to their practice that would impact access to care.
“PEICFP recognizes the efforts by all parties to develop the [agreement] and is hopeful that the feedback provided by family doctors will be received in a meaningful way to inform and improve implementation,” Stewart is quoted as saying in a news release.
“I, along with the college, remain a willing partner to provide perspective on future family medicine policy and process and encourage the inclusion of frontline family doctors in these discussions.”
Last year, the medical society entered mediation with the province and Health P.E.I. over the operational guidelines for family doctors’ workloads.
A new Physician Services Agreement, which took effect in April 2025, included key performance indicators that set out a requirement that each family doctor see 24 patients a day, based on an average appointment being 15 minutes long.
Health P.E.I. also wanted a full-time family physician to have 1,600 people on their patient roster, although CEO Melanie Fraser later insisted that was a maximum number, not a minimum as the society understood the phrasing.
The agreement reached in December sets out more flexible models for how many patients family doctors can and should handle, and gave physicians a deadline of Jan. 31 to decide on their patient loads.
Survey results
The college said it got responses to its survey from 62 family doctors, many of whom are considering changes to their practice, including reducing their full-time status, cutting back on how many patients they see and their teaching commitments — or leaving P.E.I. entirely.
Doctors also want Health P.E.I. to better understand all the extra work they do, like teaching, home visits and providing palliative care. The college said it wants the elimination or reduction of administrative work that could overburden health-care staff.
The college's letter calls on the medical society, Health P.E.I. and the provincial government to extend the deadline to let doctors decide how many patients they want to take on.
In an emailed statement, Medical Society of P.E.I. president Dr. Krista Cassell said the society stands by the agreement.
"This represents a long overdue, transparent accountability framework — for both Health P.E.I. and physicians — that we expect, if implemented properly, it will support the recruitment and retention of physicians in our province," Cassell said in the statement
The statement also acknowledged a "high risk in introducing such significant change during a period of considerable strain in the health system."
"We expect that the government and Health P.E.I. appreciate the seriousness of these risks and is taking the feedback it is hearing from family physicians seriously to help mitigate any impact."
Opposition response
The college's letter resulted in swift reaction from P.E.I.'s opposition parties.
The Liberal Party said in a news release that the survey results “underscore growing frustration among family doctors and point to a failure by the [Progressive] Conservative government to understand the role, scope, and realities of family medicine on Prince Edward Island.”
“Time and time again, Islanders tell us they’re not getting the care they need and expect their government to do better,” Liberal Leader Robert Mitchell is quoted as saying in the release.
“Family physicians and front-line health-care workers are being forced to carry the burden of a system where leadership at Health P.E.I. simply does not understand day-to-day realities.”
In a news release, P.E.I. Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane said the college’s letter “is a clear warning of the dangerous direction” the government is taking on health care.
“The college is telling this government, in clear terms, that their direction risks driving physicians away from our Island,” MacFarlane is quoted as saying in the release.
“When over three quarters of family doctors say these changes will make them consider leaving practice here, we have to take that message seriously.”
Both parties called on the the government to act on the college's letter before the Jan. 31 deadline.
According to a statement from Health P.E.I., the framework was developed over several months of mediation, in collaboration with physicians and health system partners, and is an "important step toward a stronger, more sustainable health system for all Islanders."
It said the agreement was co-created by the Medical Society of PEI (MSPEI) and family physicians, and later approved by executive and board representing family physicians.
"We are committed to working alongside MSPEI and the Department of Health and Wellness as we work through the implementation with physicians."
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With files from Cody MacKay