OMA reaches deal with province

The province has reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario Medical Association.

It follows months of negotiation with the province’s 25-thousand doctors. Some of the main elements of the agreement include:

• -modernizing the delivery of health care and lowering wait times through e-consultations;
• -new priority investments to expand access to family doctors for seniors and patients with higher needs, including an expansion of house calls;
• -and six fees will be adjusted, including the self-referral fee and after-hours premium fees.

Premier Dalton McGuinty made the surprise announcement this morning: “You well know we had some difficulty at the outset when it came to negotiating an agreement with our doctors, but i’m proud to report that we have found ways to come back to the table to demonstrate some flexibility on the part of each party to this agreement and we certainly secured an agreement that protects our fiscal plan, protects our doctors, protects our gains that we’ve made together on behalf of patients.”

The deal would last until 2014; a ratification vote will be held in December.

Video: Sharon McCulloch reports: