Reducing Paperwork and Administrative Burden

It has been one year since the release of the final report from the Joint Task Force to Reduce Administrative Burdens. The initiative, co-led by Doctors Manitoba and the provincial government, called for significant changes to the unnecessary paperwork and administrative tasks physicians face in their practice. 

The Task Force found Manitoba’s physicians spend an average of 10.1 hours per week on administrative tasks, adding up to 1.4 million hours per year. Nearly half (44%) of that time is reported to be unnecessary. 

The report outlined six key ways to support continued progress toward making a meaningful reduction in administrative tasks for physicians, including streamlining referrals and requisition, improving electronic record systems, and simplifying common forms. The report also called for eliminating sick notes, which alone could free up more than 300,000 visits per year for patients who require actual medical attention. 

“In the year that’s followed the recommendations, Doctors Manitoba has pursued initiatives to reduce administrative burdens for physicians at every turn,” explained Task Force Co-Lead, Keir Johnson, who also works with Doctors Manitoba as Director of Strategy, Advocacy and Communications. 

Progress and Next Steps 

In the last year, Doctors Manitoba has focused on pushing for progress in a number of areas.
In November, the government announced it will eliminate sick notes. With over 600,000 written per year, sick notes are one of the top paperwork burdens and Manitoba was one of only two provinces that had not limited sick notes in any way. The provincial government will introduce legislation to prohibit employers from requesting sick notes until after seven consecutive days of absence. This followed a public awareness campaign by Doctors Manitoba, and extensive work to build consensus among business, employer, government, and union stakeholders. Further details will be posted at Sick​Of​Sic​kNotes​.ca.

AI scribes have the potential to help doctors save time on writing notes for patient charts, improve the quality of notes, and support better patient-physician communication. Resources have been created to support he adoption of this new technology. See the article on AI scribes on page 10 to learn more. 

Thousands of times per day, physicians send and receive referrals for consultation or testing, and nearly all of them are sent by mail or fax, one of several frustrations physicians have with the current system. Physicians on both the sending and receiving end waste an average of 30 – 40 hours per year on inefficient referral and requisition systems. Doctors Manitoba hosted a summit in October to find solutions, in partnership with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba and Shared Health, and a final report is expected soon to guide improvements in this area. 

Beyond all of this, Doctors Manitoba has looked nationally, working with the Canadian Revenue Agency on the lengthy Disability Tax Credit renewal form, as well as the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association on a common short- and long-term disability form. 

In the year ahead, efforts will focus on the myriad of other forms and requests physicians receive from employers. This includes common requests for workplace accommodations and safe return to work. The team will also press for better physician involvement in the development and implementation of hospital electronic patient records, to ensure this major change doesn’t add new burdens to physicians’ days. 

Admin Burden Reduction Lead Appointed 

In anticipation of making more progress for physicians over the next year, Doctors Manitoba appointed Dr. Alexis Botkin to a new role of Medical Lead for Reducing Administrative Burden.

Dr. Botkin was a member of the Joint Task Force, and in this new role, she will work with our staff and the health system to continue pressing for simpler administrative tasks and less paperwork to lighten your load. This builds on her previous work with Doctors Manitoba as a Medical Consultant with Physician Health and Wellness.

Physicians are invited to email concerns about administrative burdens or paperwork to adminburden@​doctorsmanitoba.​ca.