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The final report of the Joint Task Force to Reduce Administrative Burdens for Physicians has been submitted to the Minister of Health and the President of Doctors Manitoba. It includes six recommendations for both reducing and avoiding an undue load on physicians’ time so they can focus on patient care and avoid burnout.

“It’s good to see progress on reducing unnecessary paperwork and administrative tasks, and even better to see concrete recommendations on how to make a bigger impact,” said Dr. Randy Guzman, President of Doctors Manitoba and a member of the Task Force. ​“The burden of unnecessary or overly complicated forms and tasks is a huge weight on physicians, taking us away from the medical care we want to provide. If implemented, the recommendations in this report will make a real difference for doctors and patients.”

The recommendations cover foundational issues like tackling poorly designed forms, difficult to navigate health systems, and disconnected electronic records. It includes advice for health system leaders to make an ongoing commitment to reducing the burden on physicians while avoiding new ones. Advice is also included for sectors outside of health care too, like insurance companies and employers.

“I know that physicians want to focus on their patient’s health, not on the paperwork that’s piled up on their desk,” said Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara. ​“I want to thank physicians, administrative staff, and all the members of the task force for relieving that burden and giving doctors in this province more time to care for themselves and our loved ones when they need it.”

🎯 FINAL REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, & IMPLEMENTATION GUIDES: 

• Final Report
• Recommendation 1 – Reducing Burdens and Avoiding New Ones
• Recommendation 2 – Reducing Form Burden
• Recommendation 3 – Electronic Record Systems
• Recommendation 4 – Care Coordination and Continuity
• Recommendation 5 – Paramedical Authorization
• Recommendation 6 – Sick Notes and Third-Party Forms

🔎 PREVIOUS REPORTS AND TOOLS: You can see more about the work of the Joint Task Force and resources at the Doctors Manitoba hub on reducing administrative burden.

📊 BY THE NUMBERS:

• 75,300 hours per year of unnecessary administrative burden eliminated

• 38 organizations and departments met with that were identified by physicians as​“burden owners”

• 10.1 hours spent per week on administrative tasks on average, which adds up to 1.4 million hours per year

• 44% of this time is unnecessary, equivalent to 633,000 hours per year or 1.9 million patient visits

• 6 Recommendations to make more significant progress.