Dear members,

Thank you for such a warm welcome! I am honoured to join the great team at the OCFP and to continue to support the tremendous work of family physicians across the province.  You are the backbone of our healthcare system and ensuring you are well supported to thrive in a healthy profession is paramount, and central to the pandemic recovery that we are all seeking.

The reality though, and what I am hearing from family physicians so far, is that you are giving 200% during the pandemic – caring for your sick patients, maintaining their ongoing care, delivering preventive care, catching up on the backlog, supporting vaccination efforts, preparing for flu season, and more. In so many ways the efforts of Ontario’s family physicians throughout the pandemic have been extraordinary, yet those efforts have brought collective exhaustion. 

Family doctors want to focus on what matters most and be supported to do so, however, you face multiple demands from various system partners, including supporting the upcoming 5-11 COVID vaccines. System coordination and prioritization is needed across Ontario to manage the backlog and burden of care. The OCFP’s considerations for family physicians stresses that the priority should remain on maintaining your essential role in the care of your patients to keep them healthy and out of hospital.  It is good to see Ontario Health echoes this priority focus.

I am grateful to be a part of Ontario Health’s Provincial Recovery Table which provides advice to senior leaders as we navigate COVID response and recovery of the healthcare system. Rest assured that at that table and all the tables and meetings with government, your voices and issues will be raised. The Ontario healthcare system will only recover if family physicians are enabled to meet the increased health needs of patients.

What is clear right now is the need to reduce the system barriers that impede your work and your joy in practice. In advancing the specialty of family medicine, this includes reducing your administrative burden, addressing the inequity in access to team-based resources, and ensuring there is investment in strong primary care foundation. I am determined to advance the work underway together with the OCFP Board, staff, partners and – most importantly – all of you in achieving this. As well, maintaining the OCFP’s solid track record of producing and delivering timely and relevant tools and educational supports to support today’s practice needs.

I am eager to share your concerns, issues and contributions with the Ministry of Health, Ontario Health leadership and other stakeholders. I have a successful track record with this government advocating for solutions to large, complex system issues and I will bring all that expertise to bear on the issues that you care about.

As well, I look forward to working with our partners such as the Primary Care Collaborative, including colleagues from the OMA Section on General & Family Practice and the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario.  Working in partnership with the same messages to government will strengthen all our work.

In the next few months, I will be listening, learning and better understanding how the OCFP can continue to support family physicians.  If you would like to contribute to my “Listening Tour” with challenges you face and/or solutions that could benefit your colleagues, please send me an email or connect with me on Twitter.

My “door” is always open. Please send me an email at [email protected] or connect on Twitter @kmoranONT