THE College of Physicians and Surgeons has told all Manitoba doctors that they can't refuse to treat patients who are trying to settle a medical insurance claim.
Dr. Bill Pope, College registrar, said the College has received about 15 complaints in the last eight months that a physician won't take new patients filing insurance claims because of the extra paperwork involved.
The College recently issued a reminder to all doctors that physicians can't discriminate against patients filing medical claims with Manitoba Public Insurance or Worker's Compensation Board, and that doing so could place an undue burden on their colleagues.
Pope said doctors can accept or refuse a patient based on their current patient load and knowledge of certain health problems.
However, doctors are expected to care for some patients settling insurance claims. Pope said doctors across the province are swamped, but have to divvy up the paperwork among them.
"Every physician should have some of these patients," Pope said. "We would expect everyone to take his or her share of the load."
Earlier this year, a Statistics Canada national health survey found more than 140,000 Manitobans don't have a regular family doctor.
The data revealed that 15 per cent of Manitobans don't have a regular doctor -- including 46,000 people, or five per cent, who couldn't find one and another 95,000, or 10 per cent, who haven't looked for a regular physician. Family doctors are expected to have a mix of patients, and taking on too many with complex chronic conditions -- or insurance paperwork -- could be overly time-consuming.
Doctors cannot discriminate against a patient based on race, gender, or any factor outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca
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