Work is now underway to formally recognize family medicine as a specialty in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The provincial government is working with the medical association on the change.

Doing so would recognize that family doctors are “highly skilled, educated, and dedicated health care providers” and emphasize the importance of them to a person’s overall health and the sustainability of the health system.

It would also reward the time, patient complexity and administrative work that family doctors manage.

The last MOU reached with the NLMA included an increase of 17.5 per cent for family medicine and a total for all physicians up to $240 million.

The next round of negotiations will begin next June.