The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Premier Brad Wall announced new funding Wednesday to attract more recently-graduated physicians to rural Saskatchewan communities and improve patients' access to physician services. The new Rural Physician Incentive Program will provide $120,000 in funding over five years to recent medical graduates who establish practice in rural communities of 10,000 or less. 'This program will help improve patient access to physician services in rural areas,' Wall said. The program will be retroactive to April 1, 2012, and will be open to both Canadian and international medical graduates. It will be administered by saskdocs, the province's Physician Recruitment Agency. Randy Weekes, Minister responsible for Rural and Remote Health, said he has 'heard firsthand from many rural residents that physician services are a serious concern.' 'This is another way that we're working to keep our commitment to address health care needs in smaller communities,' he said. Eligible physicians will receive a payment at the end of each year of practice, with payments gradually increasing over the five-year period. Newly-graduated doctors typically finish studies with a large debt load due to their many years of education. The incentive is designed to help ease that financial burden. 'The incentives in this program will benefit patients by addressing the critical shortage of family physicians in rural Saskatchewan,' Saskatchewan Medical Association President Dr. Janet Shannon said. 'I know how challenging it has been for rural communities to recruit and retain physicians, but I also know there are many benefits to living and practising medicine in rural Saskatchewan.' The Wall government says its 2009 Physician Recruitment Strategy is paying off, with overall physician numbers increasing. More than 240 extra physicians are practising in Saskatchewan today compared to 2007. But while the overall number of physicians is increasing, more physicians are still needed in rural and remote areas. _ Compiled from a Government of Saskatchewan news release
