mutual defence organization - TUUM EST

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President s report
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
MAINTAINING TRADITION IN
THE FACE OF CHANGE
The year 2000 is now history and we are entering a new century and a
new millennium. In 2001, the CMPA celebrates its 100th anniversary and
a century of service to the doctors of Canada.
Surveys tell us that our members value highly the assistance provided to
them by the CMPA. We must not rest on our laurels, but rather strive to
maintain our tradition of excellence. We must move into the 21st century
looking to expand and improve on what we have done for the past 100 years.
In the past year, your Council and CMPA staff undertook an extensive
strategic planning exercise that laid out some exciting plans for the future
designed to keep the CMPA on the cutting edge of technical advancement
and at the forefront in the provision of medical malpractice protection for
the doctors of Canada.
Landmark change
On January 1, 2001 a landmark change occurred with the implementation
of regional rating. For this purpose the country has been divided into
three regions: Ontario, Quebec, and the remaining provinces and
territories. Members' fees are now calculated based on the true regional
costs of providing medical malpractice protection, as well as by type of
work. This change was made necessary when, for the first time, costs
were analyzed on a regional basis and significant cost differences among
regions were identified. In the interest of fairness, Council decided to
move to regional fees. This decision produced dramatic increases in
membership fees for Ontario, primarily reflecting the higher cost of
settlements and court awards in that province. In Quebec the converse
was true as fees were substantially lowered. The rest of Canada remained
almost unchanged.
To mitigate the sizable increases in Ontario, a three-year
memorandum of understanding was drawn up between the Ontario
government, the Ontario Medical Association and the CMPA in which
it was agreed that the fee increases would be phased in over the next
three years; in exchange, the Ontario government would provide
significant subsidies, eliminating the need for up-front payments and the
potential for serious cash-flow problems, especially for doctors in the high
risk specialties. All parties agreed to look seriously at ways to reduce the
cost of settlements and court awards through tort reform and risk
management. These measures must be invoked quickly if a further
medical malpractice crisis in Ontario in 2004 is to be averted.
In Quebec, members are generally pleased with the significant fee
reduction in their province. They have also indicated that they value the
extensive protection provided by the CMPA. Meanwhile, the Quebec
government continues to explore the possibility of a government-run
medical malpractice program for Quebec doctors. It is our sincere wish
that Quebec doctors will be able to remain with the CMPA and continue
to benefit from the experience and expertise we have shared with them
for so many years.
Future directions
For 100 years the CMPA has been a strong national association, admired
and respected by medical malpractice protection providers around the
world. It is my hope that this
tradition of excellence will
continue unaltered into the
new century.
For 100 years the CMPA
has been a strong national
association, admired and
respected by medical
malpractice protection
providers around the world.
In the past year your
Council, executive and CMPA
staff have worked very hard on
your behalf. They have faced
many difficult decisions and I
believe they have made them
wisely and with the continued
best interest of the membership
as their primary concern. Some
decisions and strategic advances
have involved sizeable financial commitment. I believe however that
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