OMA Fax Network President's Update

Volume 9, No. 17

July 15, 2004

OMA report to Justice Cory reflects strong member input on MRC and medical audit issues

The OMA has submitted its written report to Justice Peter Cory outlining our recommendations to change the Medical Review Committee (MRC) and the medical audit process in Ontario.

The 28-page report was prepared by the OMA MRC Committee with the support of our Legal Services Department. The report reflects the recommendations endorsed by the OMA Board in December 2003, and includes excellent input provided by hundreds of OMA members.

The document is posted on the Members’ Home Page (www.oma.org/member/mrc), and will be published in the July/August issue of the Ontario Medical Review.

In recent weeks, almost 800 members have completed the OMA online survey about the MRC. Members have provided invaluable information about the personal and professional impact of medical audits, and their effect on service delivery.

A general summary of the survey findings, included in the report to Justice Cory, show that OMA members believe:

• The audit and review process must be more transparent.
• OHIP is “targeting” certain fee codes, specialties, and communities for review.
• The MRC process is too long and costly, decisions are arbitrary, and the dollar amount of recoveries is too high.
• The MRC process forces physicians to spend more time charting at the expense of patient care.
• MRC members should be practicing physicians of the same specialty as the physician being reviewed.
• The Schedule of Benefits is incomprehensible.
• The MRC should emphasize an educational approach, rather than a punitive mandate.
• Physicians are altering practice types, leaving Ontario, and retiring from practice as a result of MRC audits.
• Medical trainees are choosing not to practise in Ontario as a result of MRC audits, making recruitment difficult.

I would like to extend my personal thanks to all members who took the time to complete the survey. Your feedback has bolstered our position, and provided important frontline perspective for not only the written report, but also our oral submission to Justice Cory, which is expected to be delivered in October.

Search for new OMA CEO underway

The OMA Board of Directors recently appointed a Search Committee to recommend a replacement for our current chief executive officer, David Pattenden, who will be retiring from the Association in May 2005.

Advertisements for the position have appeared in national newspapers. The ad will also be posted on the OMA Web site and published in the OMR for member reference.

The Search Committee will be updating the Board on an ongoing basis and further information will be reported to members as the process unfolds.

Dr. John Rapin
OMA President

Member feedback is encouraged. Please contact: [email protected]