New Brunswick MDs doing 5% of work for free

The New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) says demand for medical attention this winter exceeded the government's fixed limit for physician services and as a result the province's physicians are providing 1 patient visit in 20 for free. "The message being sent to physicians is to treat fewer patients, or accept that they will not be paid for a certain number of medical services," NBMS president Dr. Gordon Mockler said. He added that physicians are responding by reconsidering the number of hours they will be available to see patients and the staff levels they can afford to maintain.

| CMAJ May 1, 1996 (vol 154, no 9) / JAMC le 1er mai 1996 (vol 154, no 9) |