Opinion: Physicians optimistic about the future of primary care

In 2017, the New Brunswick Health Council (NBHC) estimated that nearly 93 per cent of citizens had a regular family physician or nurse practitioner. At that time, New Brunswick had consistently been among the national leaders in primary care access. Recently, the NBHC published its 2025 survey results indicating that only 73 per cent of [...]

Article content In 2017, the New Brunswick Health Council (NBHC) estimated that nearly 93 per cent of citizens had a regular family physician or nurse practitioner. At that time, New Brunswick had consistently been among the national leaders in primary care access. Recently, the NBHC published its 2025 survey results indicating that only 73 per cent of New Brunswick patients now have regular access to the front door of our health system.

In less than 10 years, New Brunswickers’ access to primary care declined by 20 percentage points. That is a significant and concerning change. It is having real consequences for patients across the health system, and reversing this trend is the single most important priority for me and my colleagues.

The health system challenges we face today did not emerge overnight. They reflect more than a decade of underfunding and neglect. While other jurisdictions were strengthening primary care systems, teams and clinics, New Brunswick’s physicians were asked to do more with less.

Over time, this contributed to shortages, service interruptions, recruitment challenges, physician burnout, retention pressures, resulting in growing gaps in infrastructure and human resources within primary care. These challenges cannot be resolved immediately, but they can be addressed through sustained, coordinated effort. Encouragingly, we are now at a turning point where the groundwork for meaningful change has been laid.

The elements required for system improvement are finally aligning. Family physicians in New Brunswick are more optimistic about the future of primary care than they have been in a long time. As has been widely acknowledged across the health system, team-based care is central to the future of primary care.

By bringing together physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals, this model can improve access, strengthen continuity of care and reduce the burden on individual providers. It reflects best practices across Canada; however, it is not an overnight solution. Teams must be recruited, clinics and workspaces must be established, information systems must be in place, and providers need time to work together effectively while onboarding and caring for new patients.

System transformation requires time before it can be properly evaluated, but we are beginning to see early signs of progress. Physicians and their teams are onboarding patients as new capacity is added across the province. These gains are meaningful, even if they are not yet fully captured in province-wide data and may be offset in some areas by retirements and departures.

Asking for patience from a population whose access to primary care has been shrinking for years is, without question, asking a great deal. However, after years of strain, there is no quick fix. Workforce growth, clinic expansion, team-based care and improved access all require time to scale effectively.

In the months ahead, it will be important to focus not only on isolated snapshots of performance, but also on the overall direction of change. Physicians understand the importance of an accurate diagnosis. In this case, there has been, and remains clear consensus on what is required: team-based care, competitive remuneration, strong governance, greater accountability, and investments in clinics, technology and teams.

These are the measures needed to help family physicians and nurse practitioners attach more patients and provide care more quickly. The path forward is clear, and partners across the system are working together to advance the same plan. New Brunswick is on the right path.

The approach now underway is consistent with models that have improved access elsewhere in Canada and across the world. We are confident that the province can return to being a leader in primary care within the next few years, but doing so will require following the plan and executing as quickly as possible to ensure our patients get the care they deserve. Dr. Carl Boucher is pesident of the New Brunswick Medical Society