By January, Whitehorse should have enough doctors to serve its population.

Four physicians are expected to start in the territory in the new year.

That's good news for the 1,500 or so Yukoners who've notified the territorial government that they are without a family doctor.

Dr. Rao Tadepalli, the president of the Yukon Medical Association (YMA), said Thursday all four doctors are recent graduates of Canadian medical schools. They have either recently completed, or are in the process of finishing, their residencies.

Three of the four are also general practitioner anesthetists, which will bring Whitehorse's total number of GP anesthetists to six in early 2014.

"That will be great for our surgical programs,” said Tadepalli, noting the territory can't afford full-time anesthetists.

All four are full-scope physicians. That means they will work in the emergency room and in more specialized fields like obstetrics, on top of their clinic responsibilities.

A new psychiatrist has also recently arrived in the capital, raising the city's total to two.

While it appears the doctors shortage has been addressed, at least for the short term, Tadepalli believes recruitment efforts should continue.

The partnerships between the YMA and the Department of Health and Social Services have been positive, he said.

Resident doctors have accompanied officials to recruitment fairs, sharing information about life in the Yukon and encouraging physicians to visit the territory.

Local doctors have also been accepting residents and students to complete their practicums, and actively encouraging locums (temporary replacements) to come North.

"It's a difficult move; most people would not be familiar with what Whitehorse can offer,” Tadepalli noted.

"I think what will be crucial for us moving forward is to have an active physician resource strategy,” he said, rather than simply bringing in a recruitment officer during a crisis.

While most Yukoners' needs will be met with the arrivals of the new quartet, there are citizens with more complex medical needs, Tadepalli said.

Health and Social Services Minister Doug Graham said while the four incoming doctors are a good achievement in the short term, the government understands the necessity of ongoing recruitment.

"We think it's an excellent development, and we're really happy but we're going to continue recruiting,” he told the Star Thursday afternoon.

"Our primary goal is still, as I said some time ago, to ensure that every citizen in the Yukon has a health practitioner that they can call on at any time.

"It's one of the reasons that we brought in the nurse practitioner legislation,” he added.

Over the long term, the government's health care goals move beyond straightforward doctor recruitment.

"We believe that the collaborative care model, as we've said over and over again, is the way for the Yukon to go,” Graham said.

"Whereas the emergency or the acute care system that we seem to be currently fixated on is great, the only thing that's going to really serve the Yukon well in years to come is preventative medicine, and that's where we hope to put most of our energy and effort in the next couple of years.

"If people are healthy and don't get sick, then the demands on the acute care system are nowhere near as high.”

Tadepalli said the doctors shortage in Dawson City has also been addressed, and contract work is underway with resident doctors in Watson Lake. Both communities have received new hospitals.

Graham encourages any residents without a family doctor who haven't registered with his department to do so soon.

The registry will be shut down at the end of the month, said Pat Living, a department spokeswoman.