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Polaroids showing Covid-19; health-care worker with patient; woman in a waiting room; blocks; woman looking sad; map of Ontario on prescription pad

Ontario Medical Review
Dec. 16, 2021

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of the Ontario Medical Review magazine.

Year in review

Looking back, moving forward

This year has been challenging for all Ontarians, with the unprecedented health-care crisis and economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this global pandemic, the Ontario Medical Association has championed the needs and voices of OMA members, both at decision-making tables and in the communities and hospitals in which they work.

From the onset of the pandemic, the OMA has addressed issues related to Ontario’s pandemic response and the need to establish and maintain support for physicians. The Negotiations Task Force negotiated several COVID-19 funding agreements and compensation models with the Ministry of Health. For example, new funding came into effect in March of this year to support physicians providing vaccination services to Ontarians on a fee-for-service basis and helping patients book and/or register their COVID-19 vaccinations when formally requested by public health units in the province.

The OMA also successfully negotiated a pause on repayments for the Advanced Payment Program in May. Resumption of the loan repayments will be the subject of further conversations with the government and will be driven by the circumstances of the pandemic.

Other highlights of the OMA’s pandemic leadership include:

  • The OMA met with retired general Rick Hillier, chair of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine task force, and senior government officials in March to reinforce the need for vaccines in community clinics. As a direct result of this intervention, the OMA was able to ensure that the first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine was distributed to community clinics
  • As a result of OMA advocacy, Ministry of Health officials have indicated they will provide primary care physicians with a new method to more easily access data on their unvaccinated patients
  • The OMA held three COVID-related member town halls in 2021, attracting close to 1,500 members
  • An op-ed by CEO Allan O’Dette was published in the Globe and Mail on April 26 calling for an end to online bullying and threats against public health doctors. This was followed by a live interview on Sirius XM Radio, resulting in an outpouring of public support for members
  • The OMA has highlighted the estimated backlog of 20 million medical services while also countering government perceptions that physicians have not been seeing patients throughout the pandemic. This has included work with the OMA Section on General and Family Practice, the Ontario College of Family Physicians and the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
  • The OMA advocated throughout the year to influence government and stakeholders on important decisions, such as revising the colour-coded public health framework, investing more than $300 million to address surgical backlogs, introducing vaccine certificates, and putting stronger public health measures in place

Organizational tools

An enterprise map and organizational growth indicator were among the tools the OMA employed in 2021.

  • Enterprise Map: Launched in July, this new communication and decision-making tool provides leadership and staff with a line of sight to the ongoing operations of the organization, including key committees, projects and internal business processes. This improves workflow and resource allocation across the organization
  • Organizational growth indicator: This is a measurement survey that assesses an organization’s ability to grow and thrive through innovation and adaptive change. The survey, deployed in January, showed the OMA is developing a more open and flexible environment that seeks continuous improvement, balanced with a more solutions-focused approach in addressing internal and external challenges

Other updates related to organizational tools include enterprise risk management, return to office and the future of work, cybersecurity, equity, diversity and inclusion, member services, Ring central and Member Connect.

Read about these organizational updates.

How we measured up against the 4Ms

In addition to the OMA’s leadership on the pandemic, the organization has been busy throughout 2021 on key fronts that support the organization’s four key objectives: Manage, Membership, Mandate and Modernize, or the 4Ms.

Manage

OMA grows its media exposure in 2021.

Read how the OMA supported this objective

Membership

OMA launches streamlined and enhanced communications.

Get the membership highlights

Mandate

Smaller board of directors, General Assembly signals new direction.

Learn more about governance transformation

Modernize

OMA named top employer for 2022.

Read more about how employee satisfaction capped off the year

Conclusion

The organization operates effectively in a complex and rapid-paced environment. In this context, staff, the board and various physician-led committees have learned to work proactively and respond at the highest level of effectiveness in serving all its members.

Among the greatest risks facing the organization are member and staff fatigue and ever-increasing demands. Critical to the OMA’s success will be a co-ordinated approach on high-impact, high-priority, outcomes-based objectives and the strong support and advice of the OMA Board of Directors.

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