Ontario Specialists Hold Referendum on Withdrawing from the Ontario Medical Association

Historic Vote Poised to Transform Ontario's Physician Representation Landscape

TORONTO, Nov. 23, 2018 /CNW/ - Specialist physicians across Ontario will vote on a proposal to withdraw from the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and join the new Ontario Specialists Association (OSA) in a province-wide referendum being held from November 25 – 27^th.  If successful, it would mark the first time an organization other than the OMA has represented physicians in contract negotiations with the Ontario government.

The conditions for the historic vote have been created by several factors including the OMA's inability to negotiate a physician services contract with the provincial government in more than six years, broken trust between the OMA and its grassroots members fuelled by the organization's lack of transparency, accountability and responsiveness, and the recent election of the Doug Ford PC government, which is open to the prospect of working with the new organization.

"The time has come for Ontario specialists to represent their interests and the interests of their patients in negotiations with the Ontario government," said Dr. David Jacobs, Chair of the OSA's Board of Directors.  "Specialists have the unique clinical perspective on how specialty care should be funded and delivered to best serve the Ontario healthcare system."

Members of 15 OMA sections will be voting in the referendum via online ballot over the next three days (November 25 – 27^th). The sections are: Anesthesiology, Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Dermatology, Diagnostic Imaging, Emergency Medicine, Eye Physicians/Surgeons of Ontario, Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Neuroradiology, Nuclear Medicine, Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, and Vascular Surgery.

The OSA referendum question is:

Be it resolved that the [specialty name] Section of the OMA should withdraw from the OMA and join the OSA to permit the OSA to negotiate directly with the Ontario government on behalf of the section.

While unprecedented in Ontario, separate negotiating groups for family physicians and medical specialists exist elsewhere in Canada, including Quebec and British Columbia, and are not only working  well for the specialists and government but have improved care for patients.

SOURCE Ontario Specialists Association

visit www.specialistsontario.com. To speak with OSA Board Chair, Dr. David Jacobs contact: [email protected]