Amid an ever-widening family doctor shortage, an Ontario university is hoping to start turning the tide with a dedicated program 鈥� but some experts say that to fix the problem in the long run, we may need to reimagine our health-care system completely.

This month, first-year medical students are beginning their training to become family doctors 鈥� part of a brand new, innovative program taking aim at the critical shortage of general practitioners.

Though urgently needed, fewer and fewer med school graduates choose family practice.

This at a time when 6.5 million Canadians now have no access to primary care, and the country is expected to be short 30,000 family doctors by 2028.

鈥淚t means that for those people, really, the front door to the health-care system is closed,鈥� Dr. Tara Kiran, a family doctor and researcher at St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital, told CTV National News. 鈥淎nd so they鈥檙e left without anywhere to turn if they get sick, but also even to keep them well, manage their chronic conditions. They don鈥檛 have the care that they need.鈥�

Julie Kristoff鈥檚 son, now 18 years old, has been on Quebec鈥檚 online wait-list for nearly two years.

鈥淓veryone is feeling overwhelmed with patients, their rosters are full,鈥� she told CTV National News. 鈥淲e are not really sure how to deal with even small issues for a healthy person.鈥�

They were advised to go to a walk-in clinic if they needed a referral to a specialist at any time.

鈥淗e certainly doesn鈥檛 have continuity of care,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat do we do if we need to get a prescription 鈥� these are issues a GP would be able to very easily follow through on.鈥�

The shortage of family doctors is one of the driving forces behind the , a satellite campus of Queen鈥檚 University.

Every single student enrolled in the program has committed to becoming a family doctor after they complete their schooling 鈥� a unique approach for medical training.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 really amazing about this program is we鈥檙e changing the way that medical education is being delivered,鈥� Dr. Randy Wax, chief of staff at Lakeridge Health, told CTV National News. 鈥淲e make sure that we know that these students are going to become family physicians, and as soon as they鈥檙e finished the program, they鈥檙e going to be out there and helping to solve the problem.鈥�

Jane Philpott, former federal health minister, is the dean of health sciences at Queen鈥檚 University. She says in traditional programs, only 30 per cent of medical school graduates choose family medicine as their first choice for residency.

That number has only declined over the last decade, Philpott said.

鈥淧art of it is there are so many specialities to choose from, so they are overwhelmed by it, some has to do with remuneration, some has to do with conditions of work for family doctors, some of it has to do with the fact we have not promoted, adequately, family medicine within our university system,鈥� she said.

One of the biggest pros of this new program, Wax says, is how it 鈥渁llows us a lot more leeway in preparing a program for them that really prepares them when they鈥檙e done to get out there and be comprehensive family physicians.鈥�

In other medical programs, where you don鈥檛 know what direction students might take their learning afterwards, you have to provide more variety in coursework, he explained. But they鈥檝e been able to focus their programing on getting students ready for the specific role of a family doctor.

鈥淭hey are working in the community clinics during the week 鈥� it has never been done in Canada and we believe it has a lot of potential,鈥� Philpott said.

Wax met the first-year students during orientation week, and said he was struck by their passion for the field.

鈥淭hat鈥檚, I think, different than other cohorts,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e driven and they鈥檙e dedicated towards solving the shortage of family physicians in Ontario and in Canada.鈥� 

The government has proposed other cures for the health-care system, including an immigration fast-track for hundreds of health-care workers, though recognizing credentials of foreign doctors can still be a years-long process.

But some experts are searching for a more comprehensive fix.

WHAT IF FINDING A FAMILY DOCTOR WAS AS EASY AS ENROLLING YOUR CHILD IN PUBLIC SCHOOL?

Kiran, who is an associate professor at the University of Toronto as well as a family doctor, believes we need an overhaul of the ailing primary care system.

鈥淚n our current system, we have the 鈥榟aves鈥� and the 鈥榟ave nots,鈥欌�� she said.

She proposes that we shift to a system that guarantees access to primary care for every single Canadian.

鈥淲hen you move into a new neighbourhood, your kids are automatically guaranteed access to the local public school,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need that kind of system in primary care, where people have a right to care.鈥�

With a system similar to how we run public education, Canadians would be immediately guaranteed access to primary care at a team-based clinic in their area, instead of having to search for a primary care provider themselves.

鈥淵our child has to be able to go to a public school, you don鈥檛 have to go around on Google, calling, begging,鈥� Philpott pointed out. 鈥淏ut we haven鈥檛 done that for primary care.鈥�

Team-based clinics would allow patients to receive care from not only family physicians, but also nurse practitioners and other primary care health professionals. In engagements with members of the public in Ontario and B.C., patients have suggested that even in this model, the ability to choose their doctor could still be maintained by allowing patients to choose to stay with an old provider if they move, or to select the specific clinician they鈥檇 prefer at a clinic, Kiran said.

Training more family doctors is definitely something that will help the health-care system, she said 鈥� but she believes more doctors alone won鈥檛 solve access issues.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just not going to be able to meet the need, if we continue to do things the way we currently are doing things.鈥�

Primary care is the first line of defence for our health-care system, and if Canadians aren鈥檛 able to access it, small issues can snowball into much larger burdens on the system as a whole, Kiran explained.

鈥淎ll sorts of things fall apart,鈥� Kiran said. 鈥�(No access to primary care) means that you can鈥檛 get care for a new condition, but it also means that you don鈥檛 get recommended care for chronic diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure, care that we know could help keep you well, and it also means that people who don鈥檛 have primary care aren鈥檛 getting their recommended testing or screening that鈥檚 needed to keep them well.鈥�

This means a greater burden for hospitals if millions of Canadians are unable to catch and treat infections and diseases in their early stages.

Guaranteeing primary care isn鈥檛 an untested concept 鈥� similar models exist in countries such as Finland and Norway, Kiran said.

鈥淔or example, in Finland, everybody in the population is automatically registered to their local health centre,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow, they can move and choose to go to a different health centre, but they鈥檙e automatically guaranteed access at their local health centre.鈥�

Philpott says that a health-care model similar to the one Kiran is describing could only be implemented with a new law governing health care.

鈥淚f you look at many countries of the world where people have universal access to primary care, that is founded in federal legislation, and I would argue this is what is needed in Canada,鈥� she said.

鈥淭here is a growing sentiment among the public saying 鈥榳hat kind of a country are we that lets 20 to 25 percent of our people go without access to care?鈥� We wouldn't let 20 to 25 percent of our children (go) without access to public schools, we have been able to set up a public school system where everyone has access, why can't we develop systems where every Canadian has access to primary care?鈥�

Supporters argue that investing more money in the primary care system would pay off in the long run 鈥� for every dollar spent, many more are saved if prevention leads to fewer cancers and fewer chronic diseases.

An overhaul on this scale is not only 鈥渄oable鈥� but 鈥渕ore affordable than what we are doing now,鈥� Philpott says.

鈥淏ut it is going to take some significant political will.鈥�

In the meantime, Philpott is aiming to recruit more students looking to be the future of family practice.