Ask Ontario’s Doctors: Why family physicians are leaving practice and what needs to be done

Ontario’s doctors warn that family physicians are increasingly considering leaving their practices due to systemic challenges.

OMA President Dr. Andrew Park hosted a panel including two family physicians who shared firsthand accounts about making the difficult decision to leave full-time family medicine practices and are now working in other areas of medicine.

OMA physician leaders also discussed urgently needed solutions and the impact of a lack of family doctors on the health-care system overall.

Panellist include:

• Dr. David Barber, Chair of the OMA’s Section of General and Family Practice and a family doctor in Kingston
• Dr. Natalie Leahy, a family physician, now practicing as a General Practitioner in Oncology with the Durham Regional Cancer Centre
• Dr. Dannica Switzer, a rural generalist in northern Ontario