Doctors urge province to Axe the Fax and get referrals, diagnostic testing moving again

Manitoba needs to leave the last century behind and Axe the Fax as a necessary treatment for the gridlock that ails the health-care system.

That’s the title of and one of the recommendations in a report released Thursday by physician advocacy organization Doctors Manitoba.

Most of the million referrals to specialists and diagnostic-imaging requests made by the province’s doctors on an annual basis are still either faxed or dropped in the mail, the report says.

The organization’s president, Neepawa physician Nichelle Desilets, said 85 per cent of doctor-to-doctor consultations are also sent by fax or in an envelope.

“Today’s referral processes were largely built in the last century,” Desilets told a news conference Thursday.

“This leads to wasted time and duplication… patients don’t see these processes behind the scene, but physicians feel these every day because they slow us down and add to wait times for patients.”

Desilets said regaining some of that valuable doctor-patient time is why the organization is recommending it to the province.

Creating a provincial physician directory to make it easier for MDs to find the right specialist for a patient the first time, developing a properly resourced central or pooled intake system with doctors and working to urgently fix backlogs in diagnostic imaging are among the other recommendations.

“The goal is simple: give physicians back the wasted time in their day and, more importantly, improve access for patients and eliminate avoidable delays,” Desilets said.

“This is adding weeks, and even months, to additional wait for patients.”

Noah Schulz, provincial director of the non-partisan Manitoba Health Coalition, offered support for using tech to reduce doctors’ paperwork.

“The recommendations in this new report are well-supported and have been tested in other jurisdictions,” Schulz said.” I have spoken to doctors who have expressed their frustrations about the reliance on faxing for referrals in Manitoba and I have had challenges with it myself, as a patient.

“Making the changes recommended by Doctors Manitoba will help improve the quality of doctors’ working lives and most importantly, will improve patient care.”

“This is adding weeks, and even months, to additional wait for patients.”

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the government has already taken steps to modernize the health-care system by introducing a digital health card and centralizing the surgical referral process.

Asagwara said the government plans to put in place a provincial electronic patient record by next year.

“Doctors have been super clear with us for years that this outdated, paper-based process takes time away from their patients and we’re fixing that,” Asagwara said.

“It is going to take us time, but I think Manitobans have seen that we are serious about this. We have taken very real steps… this is a monumental project. Manitoba has been so far behind and we are not only catching up, but we aim to be a leader in the country.”

Asagwara is a registered psychiatric nurse who, before getting elected to the legislature, worked with paper charts.

“I’m thrilled for all my nurse friends, all my physician friends and all of my health-care friends who have eagerly been awaiting this,” the health minister said. “On a personal level, this is something I know will make a huge difference for health-care providers.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca