Sask. physician incentive more than quadrupling for rural and remote communities

Saskatchewan is sweetening the pot to try and get more family physicians to work in rural and remote parts of the province.

The Rural Physician Incentive Program is more than quadrupling the incentive, raising it to $200,000 over five years.

“Saskatchewan is once again leading the nation with ambitious solutions to addressing the health human resource challenges that Saskatchewan, Canada, and the rest of the world are facing,” said Premier Scott Moe.

“Our government recognizes the challenge of attracting doctors to rural and remote areas of the province, and this increased incentive will enhance our ability to attract more rural physicians and meet that challenge.”

The incentive was previously $47,000 over a four-year term. In addition to the pay increase, the length of the program has risen by a year.

Moe noted that other provinces are offering similar incentives, adding that Saskatchewan needs to stay competitive.

The province says they’ve also broadened the eligibility for the incentive, and will now include physicians who are practicing in rural and northern communities who have been assessed by the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment Program.

“The enhanced incentive of up to $200,000 over five years will help attract more family physicians to rural and northern communities across Saskatchewan,” said Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley.

“Family physicians play an important role in rural and northern communities because they also support emergency departments, acute care beds, and other important services provided by local health care facilities.”

The program began back in 2013-14 to incentivize recent graduates to practice in rural and remote communities.

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