Physician compensation, accountability and performance in Canada: Changing the pas de deux

Abstract

Physician bargaining with provincial governments has been a challenge in the provinces of Canada since the origins of medicare, when this bilateral negotiation first began in Saskatchewan and was eventually codified in the Canada Health Act. In recent years, the emergence of accountability for performance has become a central policy focus in advanced countries to raise the bar on the quality and value of physician services and their effective integration within the broader healthcare system. The challenge has been to create real accountability while balancing growth in physician incomes with fiscal capacity and affordability. This commentary reflects a rich variety of perspectives from our contributing authors. It also lays out a number of challenges and changes that may be required to strengthen the importance of accountability for fair payments within Canadian medicare.