Committees

Learn about how to get involved

Email the OMA recruitment team to get more information about committees and how you can make a difference at the OMA.

info@oma.org

Committees have delegated authority from the board to perform work on complex or specialized issues and bring forward recommendations for action to the board, which retains collective decision-making authority.

The OMA has different types of committees, including standing board committees — which are comprised primarily of board directors — as well as bilateral and advisory committees and task forces, where members, including residents and medical students, can get involved to make a difference in association governance, health policy and the broader profession.

Advisory committee recruitment is typically undertaken twice a year, in the spring and fall. As part of ongoing efforts toward continuous improvement of the recruitment process, members of the Nominations and Appointments Committee and the Governance and Nominating Committee — which hold primary responsibility for all committee, working group and task force recruitment — participated in a joint education session on bias awareness in recruitment.

Resources

OMA Appointment Policy and Procedure

Board Committee, Board Task Force and Board Sub-Committee Chair job description

How the committees work

“A committee is not made up of individuals — it’s a team. And if you look at the team as a whole, they have to collectively have the skills and background to do the work” — Melinda Gibson, vice-president, governance and physician leader engagement, in the Spring 2023 issue of the Ontario Medical Review

General Assembly working group recruitment status

Application intake closed on May 31
24 applications were received to join the Enhance Access to Physician-led Multidisciplinary Care Working Group
21 applications were received to join the Time-based Billing Working Group
27 applications were received to join the Strategies to Prioritize Family Physician Recruitment Working Group
Applications are currently being screened against the skills matrix
Applicant screening is delayed and candidates will be contacted after the review is complete

Fall 2024 recruitment status

Application intake closed on Nov. 6.
17 applications were received to join the Uninsured Services Committee.
24 applications were received to join the Physician Payment Committee (PPC). Shortlisted applicants who applied to PPC will be contacted for an interview. Final decisions will be brought to the OMA board meeting in February 2025.
104 applications were received to join the Physician Health Program Advisory Panel. Decisions will be approved at the OMA board meeting in December.
Applications are currently being screened against the skills matrix.
All applicants will be contacted once the evaluation process is complete.

Board committees

There are three standing committees of the OMA Board of Directors, including the Finance and Audit Committee, the Governance and Nominating Committee and the Human Resources and Compensation Committee. A comprehensive review of their mandates and charters was recently completed. The board approved revised charters in December 2023.

Except for the board chair, who is an ex-officio voting member of all board committees, board directors and observers serve on one board committee.

Finance and Audit Committee (FAC)

Oversees financial affairs of OMA

Governance and Nominating (GNC)

Maintains and builds board confidence in governance

HR and Compensation (HRCC)

Assists the board in its oversight of human resources

Nominations and Appointments (NAC)

Manages recruitment for panels and working groups

Negotiations Task Force (NTF)

Negotiates Physician Services Agreement with MOH

Negotiations Task Force charter

The NTF is a board task force that works bilaterally to negotiate the Physician Services Agreement with the Ministry of Health’s negotiating team. Terms of service on the NTF are mandate driven.

The current NTF was appointed in February 2023, and is comprised of five members, with a minimum of two specialists and two general/family practitioners. The physician members of the NTF are supported by two external negotiations advisers.

2023 highlights

In 2023, NTF held engagement sessions and consultations in the development of negotiations priorities and a negotiating mandate. OMA members, constituency groups, committees, working groups, General Assembly panels and networks were invited to submit priorities. The OMA Women Committee met with NTF to present their negotiations priorities, including addressing gender pay gap. The negotiations mandate, approved by the board in September, reflected the highest priorities of the profession and provided direction to the NTF in the form of core objectives that need to be achieved to reach an agreement on behalf of members.

In addition, leaders of the OMA and the NTF have been working hard with the ministry to find a path to resolution on Year 3 (2023-24). This has included several negotiation sessions between the OMA and government. As a result of these significant efforts, we have been able to reach an agreement on the amount of the Year 3 (2023-24) payments under the current 2021-24 PSA, which will provide the profession with a 2.8 per cent global increase and set out a faster process for Year 1 of the next PSA (2024-25).

This expedited process will provide an opportunity for the OMA to pursue Year 1 increases that include catch-up for the impact of inflation over the term of the previous PSA. Mediation on Year 1 between the OMA and government will be overseen by arbitrator William Kaplan and was scheduled for March/April 2024. Arbitration for Year 1 has been scheduled for early May.

Learn more about the negotiations process, key dates, and access resources.

Members

Dr. Nikolina Mizdrak, family medicine, chair
Dr. Atul Kapur, emergency medicine, vice-chair
Dr. Patrick Conlon, psychiatry
Dr. David Neilipovitz, anesthesiology
Dr. Winnie Wong, family medicine

Advisors

Steven Barrett, Goldblatt Partners
Howard Goldblatt, Goldblatt Partners

Bilateral committees

Bilateral committees include core membership from the OMA and Ontario Ministry of Health, respectively. The OMA side of these committees is appointed by, and accountable to, the OMA Board of Directors.

Education and Prevention Committee (EPC)

Works to improve physician understanding of billing

Physician Payment Committee (PPC)

Recommends how to implement compensation increases

Physician Services Committee (PSC)

Provides process for OMA-MOH communications

Physician Services Committee charter

The PSC provides a broad and structured process for regular liaison and communication between the Ministry of Health and the OMA as required under the Representation Rights Agreement. The OMA and Ministry of Health view the role of the PSC to be focused on broad health-system transformation and policy initiatives involving Ontario physicians. The PSC acts as a steering committee and strikes working groups as needed to address implementation and operational issues.

2023 highlights

The 2021 Physician Services Agreement was ratified in March 2022. Ratification of an arbitrated PSA typically initiates a process to reconstitute the PSC, which was appointed in September 2022. The PSC is comprised of five voting members, including a minimum of two specialists and two general/family practitioners, the president-elect and vice-chair of the board as ex-officio, non-voting members

A major component of the PSC’s charter is to implement the current PSA by developing and overseeing working groups and committees. The PSC achieved several implementation successes last year, including:

Hospital On-Call Working Group – recommendations on allocation of $12.5 million for groups applying for on-call program funding
Rural and Northern Physician Group Agreement – established a methodology to implement a complement review of all RNPGA communities, and as a result, 32 communities went up in complement
Physician Payment Committee – recommendations and finalization of permanent implementation of the negotiated 2.01 per cent fee increases
Family Health Organization (Managed Entry) – 617 FHO spots filled since agreement put in place
Appropriateness Working Group – ten of the group’s 11 proposals from the 2021 PSA were finalized
Virtual care framework – new framework implemented
Joint Forms Committee – physicians are now compensated for completing a Medical Certificate of Stillbirth, effective July 1, 2023
Bilateral Burnout Task Force
- Commitment from MOH and Ministry of Red Tape Reduction to reduce administrative burden from forms, starting with 12 priority forms identified by the Forms Committee
- Burnout measure guide developed for health system stakeholders to use a standard measure of burnout
Scope Changes – successful in pausing proposed initiative to have nurse practitioners become long-term care medical directors

Learn more about the Physician Services Committee.

Members

Dr. Jane Purvis, rheumatology, OMA co-chair
Dr. Nikolina Mizdrak, general and family practice
Dr. Sharon Bal, board vice-chair
Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman, president-elect

CEO advisory committees and task forces

OMA advisory committees and task forces report to the CEO and board. Committees are physician-led, with support from OMA staff. A governance review is currently underway for all advisory committees to ensure the mandates and composition of these groups are in alignment with organizational needs and priorities, as well as governance transformation changes.

Awards and Recognition

Identifies and recommends potential recipients to Board for various awards

Burnout Task Force

Addresses burnout in health-system, supports members

Burnout Task Force charter

The mandate of the Task Force is to develop a baseline (benchmark) and make recommendations on system-level solutions to reduce burnout among physicians, residents and medical students in Ontario and contribute to the achievement of the Quadruple Aim for health care system effectiveness by improving providers’ work lives.   

2023 highlights

The bilateral MOH-OMA Burnout Task Force meets regularly, with a priority focus on administrative burden. It was successful in obtaining the support of the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction to reduce administrative burden through forms, beginning with forms prioritized by the physician members of the Joint OMA-MOH Forms Committee and the OMA Forms Committee. The forms committees identified the first priority forms based on consultations and surveys, members’ proactive communication on forms issues, guiding principles for best practices, and their expertise on forms.   

This work is being led on the government side by the MOH and the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction, with involvement from the Cabinet Office and various form-owner ministries, and with oversight from the Premier’s Office.   

The Task Force developed a guide on the standard measure of burnout identified by the group to help system stakeholders utilize the measure. The MOH as agreed to co-brand that guide and will be working with the OMA on publishing and disseminating it to health system stakeholders.

Also in fall 2023, the Task Force convened the Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), Manulife, and the Forms Committee to discuss opportunities to reduce burden through insurance forms. The Ontario College of Family Physicians also joined, as they have been pushing the issue forward. CLHIA shared work it has begun, including a simplified standard short-term disability form for Canada, and the Task Force encouraged the association to include physician review as they develop standard forms. The Task Force also discussed the importance of insurance companies removing the requirement for physician referrals to paramedical services.  

A new topic being explored by the Task Force is centralized referral. This followed work on wait times and recommendations made on centralized referral in the February 2022 Integrated Ambulatory Centre white paper.

The Burnout Task Force will explore the issue given the element of burden involved in referrals. Centralized referral will be discussed at the next meeting.

Members

Dr. Mamta Gautam, chair
Dr. Stephanie Klei
Dr. Simron Singh
Dr. Chris Bourdon
Dr. Carol-Anne Moulton

Civility, Diversity and Inclusion

Creates culture of civility, promotes diversity, inclusion

Health Policy Committee

Supports development, progress of policy agenda, goals

Health Policy Committee charter

The Health Policy Committee is responsible for supporting the OMA in the development of its policy agenda, monitoring progress on the OMA’s healthy policy goals, reviewing policies and submissions as needed, and providing advice on emerging issues. Over the past year, the committee met three times and has been a critical advisor on key policy issues. The committee is comprised of six members.

2023 highlights

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) policy consultations

Health Policy and Promotion (HPP) submitted feedback to the CPSO on the following six policy consultations: Conflicts of Interest and Industry Relationships; Physician Behaviour in the Professional Environment; Proposed Regulatory Amendments to Regulate Physician Assistants; Consent to Treatment; Principles of Medical Professionalism; and Physician Treatment of Family Members, Self, or Others Close to Them. The HPC was consulted and provided feedback on these consultations, which helped to inform the submission to the CPSO.

Scope of practice

HPC considered several scope of practice proposals. Based on feedback from HPC and consultations with appropriate sections, HPP responded to proposals from regulatory health professional colleges and the MOH on expanding scope for midwives, registered nurses, naturopaths, chiropodists and pharmacists.

Home care

The OMA’s Prescription for Ontario included a number of major recommendations to improve home care such as developing quality standards, increasing funding for home care and recruiting more staff, integrating care coordinators and reducing red tape.

Privacy and PHIPA modernization

The OMA submitted a written response to the MOH’s consultation on PHIPA modernization (Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004) with feedback from HPC, the OMA legal department and OntarioMD. The submission identified key aspects of necessary reform to include ownership and access rights, data pools, interoperability, de-identification of data, and education/training for providers. The HPC was also updated on the MOH/Ontario Health (OH) Primary Care Information Exchange (PCIE) initiative which would get physicians to contribute primary care data from their EMRs to the provincial EHR. This initiative would begin as a pilot project and is currently being discussed by the MOH-OMA-OH-OntarioMD at a PCIE sub-group under the bilateral Digital Health Advisory Table, where the OMA has been raising policy considerations and the need to engage members.

Integrated Community Health Services Centre

Health Policy has reviewed and provided input on three MOH consultations on ICHSCs, based on consultation with the Health Policy Committee and affected sections. We have emphasized in each the importance of engaging with physicians while MOH develops and implements planning, reviewing new requirements through the lens of administrative burden and trying to reduce burden through the new system, keeping members informed of plans and details that affect them and following the principles established on community-based ambulatory expansion – notably, addressing HHR shortages and supporting the Quintuple Aim.

Uninsured patients proposal

As part of a discussion around strengthening health equity, HPC was engaged following the government’s termination of the Physician and Hospital Services for Uninsured Persons (PHSUP) program. The OMA was invited to participate in a working group of health system partners to collaborate on recommendations to address gaps. A preliminary document with an overview of recommendations has been produced and a complementary document with more detail will be coming soon.

2SLGBTQ+ position statement

Informed by a group of expert physicians and input from Sections and HPC, a foundational position statement has been drafted affirming the OMA’s support for 2SLBGTQ+ persons and outlining high-level policy priorities to achieve greater health equity. Once complete, the position statement will be shared. It will serve as a reference point for interactions with the 2SLGBTQ+ community and a foundational springboard for future policy work on more discrete areas.  

Community paramedicine

Feedback was obtained from HPC regarding Community Paramedic (CP) Programs in Ontario. The OMA is focused on program implementation, specifically around the need for comprehensive medical directives, with informed and engaged physician delegators. We are supportive of establishing a provincial framework, unifying the programs with some form of standardization (i.e., what is the range of services provided), while still allowing them to be nimble enough to meet local needs.

Canadian Medical Association (CMA) dialogue on private-public care

The CMA launched a “coordinated, national dialogue” on “privatization” in response to “health ministers across the country [grappling] with intractable wait lists for everything from primary care to specialized surgeries.” The Chair of HPC was part of a delegation of OMA leaders who attended a CMA townhall and the committee was kept informed of this work. Recognizing multiple member perspectives on this issue, the OMA does not have a position regarding private care, and this has been maintained throughout our involvement with the CMA’s work.

Looking ahead

Additional policy issues and continued discussions to be addressed in 2024 include centralized referral, team-based care, regional credentialing and administrative burden, health equity, mental health and addiction and member advocacy.

Members

Dr. Travis Carpenter, chair
Dr. Audrey Campbell
Dr. Cheril Clarson
Dr. Jesse Pasternak
Dr. Kevin Wasko
Dr. Rebecca Hicks

MRACC

Provides advice on external, member communications

Member Services Committee

Guides creation of voluntary member programs, services

Relativity Advisory Committee

Suggests updates to relativity methodology, approach

Relativity Advisory Committee charter

The Relativity Advisory Committee (RAC) provides advice and ongoing input to the board and the Negotiations Task Force (NTF) regarding the development and implementation of an evidence-based relativity methodology. Membership includes two physicians each from the primary care, diagnostic, medical and surgical networks, respectively, for a total of eight.

Overall status of Fee-Adjust Income Relativity (FAIR) model

The FAIR model is not yet ready for implementation for the 2024 PSA 
While the RAC have completed both the return on education and non-fee-for-service components to the FAIR model, it is still waiting on the results of the Statistics Canada Overhead Study which is on hold due to a legal case against the OMA. It is expected that the case will be resolved, and the study is expected to be completed in 2024   
The biggest obstacle for finalizing the FAIR model is the lack of accurate, representative and timely data on hours of work   
Until the FAIR model is fully developed, the current relativity model used by the OMA is the Comparison of Adjusted Net Daily Income (CANDI)

2023 highlights – RAC efforts to determine hours of work in 2023

The FAIR model relies on a modernized schedule of benefits to provide it with times for each service. From there, hours of work can then be determined for each specialty. However, the schedule of benefits modernization has not yet been completed. In the absence of a modernized schedule of benefits, the RAC spent the majority of 2023 exploring methodologies to assign service times to the existing Schedule of Benefits. The existing schedule of benefits already contains a notable proportion of services with service times attached to them, either directly or indirectly (e.g. anesthetic units for surgical services). However, data on service time for most consultations and assessments (approximately 60 per cent of the schedule) are not readily available.

The RAC first proposed using the Benchmark Estimate of Service Times (BEST) methodology to assign times to the existing fee schedule where none previously existed. It would do so by measuring service times for a benchmark code for each physician group and then inferring service times for other codes using OHIP claims data and multiple regression analysis. The RAC organized various information sessions for OMA constituencies and asked for feedback through a survey. Based on this feedback, the RAC ultimately chose not to go forward with recommending this methodology to the OMA board.

The RAC also submitted a series of priorities to the Negotiations Task Force for 2024 PSA negotiations. A progress and feedback report on both the non-fee-for-service and return on education components of the FAIR model was drafted and posted to the OMA website.

Members

Dr. Sonu Gaind, psychiatry (medical network), chair
Dr. Marilyn Crabtree, family practice (primary care)
Dr. Jerome Fan, emergency medicine (medical)
Dr. Ipshita Kak, pathology (diagnostic)
Dr. Eric Goldszmidt, anesthesiology (surgical)
Dr. Vineet Nair, family practice (primary care)
Dr. Christopher Vinden, general surgery (surgical)
Dr. Caitlin Ward, diagnostic imaging (diagnostic)

OMA Forms Committee

Reviews forms that need to be completed by physicians

OMA Forms Committee

The OMA Forms Committee and the Bilateral Joint Forms Committee report to the OMA Board of Directors and the Physician Services Committee. Membership consists of four OMA members and OMD representatives, and there is equal representation from the MOH for the bilateral committee, which meets six times a year.

The committee is committed to reviewing all new, revised or existing forms that need to be completed by physicians and it reviews the need for any changes to existing forms, including digitization and the use of new technologies. Collaboratively, the MOH and the OMA have developed a Form Appraisal Checklist to apply when reviewing any government form at the JFC. This report will focus on the activities of the OMA Forms Committee.

2023 highlights

The OMA Forms Committee met seven times in 2023, not including any other special meetings. The following are some of the key issues addressed:  

Development of form-guiding principles and criteria for review 
Met with CLHIA, CMA, RBC and Sunlife Insurance reps regarding the standardization of insurance forms and reducing administrative burden 
Provided advice to the OMA Uninsured Services Committee (USC) on third-party form fees and collaborating with the USC on drafting a member reference document that lists specific form fees  
Met with eHealth Centre for Excellence with regards to supporting the development of eForms 
The committee was successful in bringing forward a recommendation that a fee code be implemented in the OHIP Schedule of Benefits completion of a Medical Certification of Stillbirth (MCOS) form, effective July 2023. This service is payable to the physician who completes the form and includes counselling of family members rendered at the same visit  
Due to the continued efforts of the OMA Forms Committee and Bilateral Forms Committee, the MOH announced in January 2024 that it no longer requires a physician signature on the Assistive Devices Program Application for Funding Hearing Devices form, effective Jan. 29

Looking ahead

Both parties agree to make every reasonable effort to reduce the amount of administrative work performed by physicians to increase patient access to care   
Provide insight on administrative burden to the Bilateral Burnout Committee and the Ministry of Red Tape

Members

Dr. Scott Elliott, chair
Dr. Marilyn Crabtree
Dr. Debra Dyke
Dr. Jane Purvis

OMA Physician Human Resources

Reviews data on existing, emerging physician HR issues

Physician Human Resources Committee charter

The OMA Human Resource Committee (OHRC) reviews evidence on existing and emerging physician human resources issues to provide recommendations to the OMA Board and CEO that support decision-making, policy formulation, workforce planning and negotiations. OHRC members are the OMA’s representatives on the bilateral Physician Human Resources Working Group (PHRWG), a subcommittee of the Physician Services Committee (PSC), which is the collaborative process for identifying and responding to urgent PHR issues in the province. The committee is comprised of four OMA members.

2023 highlights

In 2023, OHRC recommended development of a provincial physician workforce strategy, which is a key concept reflected in the OMA’s Prescription for Ontario; conducted a risk-benefit assessment of the proposed third year of family medicine residency; and was consulted by the Auditor General of Ontario to inform their audit of northern hospital services. Achievements at the bilateral table include contributing to the development and launch of the Practice Ready Ontario assessment program which allows a streamlined pathway to practice for qualified, experienced, internationally trained physicians; and the Northern Ontario Resident Streamlined Training and Reimbursement (NOR-Star) program which supports increased access to northern learning experiences by reducing financial barriers.

Key priorities over the coming year include:   

Supporting the OMA Negotiations Task Force in assessment of HHR-related proposals and advising that solutions to physician workforce challenges must focus on the “3-Rs” of retention of the current workforce, recruitment to the Ontario physician workforce, and return of physician capacity to the workforce  
Advising the bilateral Physician Human Resources Working Group (PHRWG) on the continued development of solutions to urgent physician workforce issues  
Collaborating on development of the Physician Resources Integrated Model (PRIME) for physician workforce planning. PRIME is an OMA innovation project that is being constructed in phases, and once complete, will inform policies to align health workforce capacity with population health needs under different scenarios  
Continuing to oversee analysis of the gender pay gap in medicine to better understand the underlying factors, and promote further actions towards equity through negotiations or other means  
Continuing to disseminate the Four Moments in Fit-for-Purpose Physician Workforce Planning Toolkit OHRC developed, to support physician resources planning initiatives

These priorities reflect the importance of bilateral collaboration to address emerging physician human resources issues (through the working group), and the opportunity to lead nationally in physician workforce planning (through PRIME).

Members

Dr. Robert Dinniwell, co-chair
Dr. Sarah Simkin, co-chair
Dr. Sarah-Lynn Newbery
Dr. Carmine Simone
Dr. David Schieck, non-voting observer

OMA Women Committee

Advises OMA on how to best support women physicians

Uninsured Services Committee

Makes recommendations on uninsured services, fees

Committees

Learn about how to get involved

How the committees work

General Assembly working group recruitment status

Fall 2024 recruitment status

Board committees

2023 highlights

Members

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Advisors

Bilateral committees

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CEO advisory committees and task forces

2023/2024 highlights

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College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) policy consultations

Scope of practice

Home care

Privacy and PHIPA modernization

Integrated Community Health Services Centre

Uninsured patients proposal

2SLGBTQ+ position statement

Community paramedicine

Canadian Medical Association (CMA) dialogue on private-public care

Looking ahead

Members

Overall status of Fee-Adjust Income Relativity (FAIR) model

2023 highlights – RAC efforts to determine hours of work in 2023

Members

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Looking ahead

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Key priorities over the coming year include:

Members

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Members

Key priorities over the coming year include:   