48.82 million hours: How do we lower the number of administrative tasks docs take on each year?

48.82 million hours. That's how much time Canada's 93,998 doctors spend on administrative tasks each year, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) calculated based on survey results from Nova Scotia. That means that 38% of these clerical activities are superfluous, in that 24% of them could be accomplished by other people, while 14% could simply be eliminated. “These are as many hours that physicians do not spend in consultations taking care of their patients,” said the executive vice-president of the CFIB, Corinne Pohlmann, during a session on “Solutions to alleviate the Administrative Burden,” held as part of the Canadian Medical Association’s 2023 Health Summit. “If we cut unnecessary paperwork for Canadian doctors by 10%, they could grant 5,565,772 more medical appointments,” she said. This would add some 7,000 clinicians to health systems across the country. Read: You learn a lot in residency, but not everything: Early-career FPs highlights knowledge gaps Easing the burden on physicians requires “coordinated efforts between governments and medical associations to eliminate unnecessary paperwork,” the CFIB vice-president said. She cited the example of British Columbia, which recently modified the rules of reference to specialists, and Nova Scotia, which took the bull by the horns following the aforementioned investigation. The province's Office of Regulatory and Service Efficiency has identified with physicians which forms and processes can be shortened. The form for the medical assessment required under the Employment Support and Income Assistance Program (known as the “blue form”) has been updated and simplified. Some redundancies have also been eliminated. According to tests conducted by the Bureau, the new form takes 10 to 30% less time to complete than the previous one and it would save the equivalent of around 6,000 hours per year, or nearly 18,000 consultations. Read: The tipping point Single EMR In Newfoundland and Labrador, the province has instead opted to adopt a single electronic medical record (EMR) under the eDOCSNL program launched in 2015. “Before, everything was done on paper From now on, we all have the same EMR and advisors are at our disposal to provide training, provide us with technical support or adapt the tool to our realities,” explained Dr. Nicole Stockley, director of external mobilization at the College of Family Physicians in the province. Very involved in several committees that aim to improve efficiency and workflow in the clinical setting, the doctor indicated that the eDOCSNL team has implemented a process for continuous improvement of the EMR which was chosen in consultation with Newfoundland clinicians. ”They have developed standard forms and pre-populated query templates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. They will soon do the same for other chronic diseases,” she added. Personally, Dr. Stockley had difficulty integrating a tool that facilitates the follow-up of her diabetic patients and the sharing of their information with other health professionals. ”An advisor from eDOCSNL came to attend one of my consultations. He analyzed my needs and my challenges. Then they customized the EMR to fit my diabetes tool,” she said. In Ontario, the context is different and the Newfoundland model would be difficult to export there, said Dr. Chandi Chandrasena. The province's chief medical officer of health said her peers use 13 different EMRs. ”All community physicians would have to agree to adopting a single EMR. Everyone has already invested time and money in their own EMR.” Ease the digital burden An active member of the Ontario Medical Association's burnout task force, Dr. Chandrasena advocates for reducing the digital burden on her colleagues. ”Technology is a double-edged sword. This is a possible solution, but it can also increase the burden on doctors.” For her, this burden, “is everything that arrives in the mailbox,” from imaging and biology results, to specialist reports, forms to fill out, etc. The Ontario College of Family Physicians suggested they be sent directly to GP EMRs, but with no common protocol, “everything was sent there. It created a bottleneck,” says Dr. Chandrasena. A working group was then created, “and we put everyone around the table—doctors, hospital representatives, the Ministry of Health, insurers—to determine which reports are necessary,” and guidelines will be published this fall, said Dr. Chandrasena, specifying that a joint committee, made up of representatives of doctors and the Ontario Ministry of Health, has also been set up to simplify medical forms and eliminate unnecessary ones. ”Ideally, everything should be integrated into EMRs.” For her part, the CFIB vice-president pointed out that the Federation had asked its members to find alternatives to the medical tickets required by employers for the return to work of their employees who were absent due to illness. The latter could sign a sworn declaration of fitness for work or obtain a certificate from another health professional. ”We must still ensure that employees are accountable,” said Pohlmann. An audience member, an Ottawa doctor attending the summit, noted that physicians “do not work for companies, but for the health of their patients. We are not here to send people back to work.” This article has been translated from its original French and first appeared on our sister site Profession Santé.

48.82 million hours: How do we lower the number of administrative tasks docs take on each year?

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