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Late last week, the federal government issued a statement introducing a new interpretation of the Canadian Health Act, which would require provinces to cover services deemed medically necessary if provided by non-physician professionals such as nurse practitioners or pharmacists. This directive captured our immediate attention, as Manitoba and many provinces lack any meaningful frameworks about integrated, team-based care.

THE BIG PICTURE: The policy is to provide clarity in the Act to protect Canadians from paying out of pocket for health services that would otherwise be covered by their publicly-funded provincial health plan if the services were provided by a physician.

OUR PERSPECTIVE: Based on past patient-centred feedback from our members, we know physicians value other health care professionals, such as nurses, pharmacists and allied health providers, particularly when they are working together with physicians as a team to meet patients’ needs. 

• Doctors Manitoba believes public funding for health care should be directed to good quality care. That means connected and integrated team-based care that ensures physicians are part of the team, not fragmented and disconnected care where patients may fall through the cracks. 

• We also know Manitobans are concerned about care in retail settings, because of the potential ethical conflicts in making diagnosis and treatment decisions that could be driven by profits. 

• We believe the pathway forward is using this framework to help expand team-based care in physician practices, which currently face restrictions and limitations on their ability to integrate other providers into their practice.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING: We are monitoring this very closely and working with our partners provincially and across the country. The CMA issued a response that expressed support in principle with the direction, noting that ​“we must work together to increase capacity in the health system to ensure that patients receive the care they need in a timely fashion and that health care providers can work together in a team-based environment.”

WHAT’S NEXT: The policy does not go live immediately but is slated to come into effect on April 1, 2026. A letter to Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health discusses reporting obligations and developing measures to collect the information required to implement the policy.

📣 Let us know what you think. Reach out to us at practiceadvice@​doctorsmanitoba.​ca to share how this affects your practice.