According to the report of Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), more than one in 10 Canadian doctors are aged 65 or older; the figure has risen from 9% to 12% in the last five years.

Around 20% of doctors in Canada are aged 60, and average age of doctors is 50.

The study was lead by Geoff Ballinger, CIHI’s Manager if Health and Human Resources. This is the first attempt of this kind of study.

The study found that a third of Canadian doctors are still working on full time basis, while those who are not working full time, on an average they are also carrying 40% workload.

Senior analyst, Walter Feeney said that senior doctors often change their scope of practice; they stop performing complex procedures such as vasectomies or be on call to deliver babies.

He said that senior doctors keep on working later in life because as a self employed person they can decide that how much workload they can carry or how little they want to work.

He added that the number of doctors in Canada is increasing because medical school graduates are replacing the retiring doctors and increasing the workforce as well.