Is Ontario Really Fixing Its Primary Care Shortage? | The Rundown

Ontario says its Primary Care Action Plan is working and promises universal access by 2029. But with many still without a family doctor and a deadline to publicly fund medically necessary care from nurse practitioners about to be missed, is the primary care crisis really easing or just shifting? Family physician and researcher Dr. Tara Kiran, Ontario College of Family Physicians CEO Deepy Sur, and Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario CEO Michelle Acorn examine whether government optimism matches reality and what stalled nurse practitioner funding means for the future of care. 00:00 Intro 1:27 Are we nearing the end of the family doctor crisis? 2:56 What needs to change to reach universal primary care 5:03 Funding, teams, and digital tools — what could move the needle 7:24 Recruiting doctors and the growing gap between communities 11:00 Who should deliver care — doctors, teams, or nurse practitioners? 15:42 Why nurse practitioners are underused in Ontario 20:20 Private clinics, public funding, and the missed NP deadline 27:01 What governments must fix next to restore access About The Rundown: The Rundown is your nightly half-hour deep dive into just one headline. With host Jeyan Jeganathan, we’ll cover everything from housing and health care to climate and AI. We’ll break down why each topic matters, who’s living it, and what’s being done to make things better – starting right here in Ontario. Slow down. Tune in. Make sense of the moment. And tell us what you think. Follow on social media: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/therundowntvo Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TheRundownTVO X- https://twitter.com/therundowntvo Bluesky- https://bsky.app/profile/therundowntvo.bsky.social Subscribe to TVO Today to watch more content like this: https://www.youtube.com/@tvotoday Listen to the podcast: https://www.tvo.org/podcasts/the-rundown-audio Check out the rest of the TVO ecosystem TVO Docs - https://www.youtube.com/@tvo TVO Kids - https://www.youtube.com/@TVOkids TVO Learn - https://www.youtube.com/@tvolearn Download the TVO Today App Apple - https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/tvo-today/id1616182112 Available on: Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire TV Enjoying this content and want to make a meaningful impact? Consider donating today! https://support.tvo.org/site/Donation2?mfc_pref=T&idb=599945504&df_id=16843&16843.donation=form1&DONATION_LEVEL_ID_SELECTED=1661&mfc_pref=T Photo credit: bristekjegor (www.freepik.com)