Manitoba task force to target doctors’ paperwork burden

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This article was published 03/02/2023 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new provincial task force on cutting unnecessary paperwork for physicians is expected to make a public report on its progress later this year.

Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced the formation of the task force Friday, along with Doctors Manitoba President Dr. Candace Bradshaw and Canadian Federation of Independent Business provincial affairs director Brianna Solberg.

It makes Manitoba the second province (after Nova Scotia) to commit to reducing the administrative burden on doctors, who are often required to fill out redundant and duplicate forms.

Three physicians will sit on the task force with a health system representative and a representative from the CFIB, which earlier this week published a national report, “Patients Before Paperwork,” that estimated Canada’s doctors spend 591,000 hours a year on unncessary paperwork and could instead use that time to see an estimated 1.8 million patients.

In Manitoba, a 10 per cent reduction in physicians paperwork would equal roughly 177,000 additional patient visits, the CFIB estimated.

No date has been set for the task force’s first meeting, but its work is expected to begin soon and culminate in a final report before the end of 2023.

Two co-chairpersons, one appointed by the government and one by Doctors Manitoba, will head the task force. It’s being funded as part of the province’s previously announced $200-million health human resources plan, which promised to add 2,000 health-care workers to the provincial workforce.

The health minister said an update on that plan is coming next week.

“Doctors often face excessive administrative requirements that place a burden on their time and take them away from their most important role — and that is providing care to Manitobans when they need it most,” Gordon said Friday.

Bradshaw thanked the minister for taking action to address the administrative burden, adding she didn’t know this announcement was coming when she spoke to reporters Monday to call attention to the “soul-sucking” excessive paperwork doctors must complete.

The news was a “pleasant surprise,” she said.

Striking the task force brings “massive relief and a big sense of hope, because it’ll give us more time with patients.”

A family physician for 21 years, Bradshaw said her administrative load has never been as heavy as it is now, due to a plethora of forms from insurance agencies and government regulators.

“Everybody wants documentation of everything,” she said, adding she is hopeful the task force can cut down unnecessary paperwork by 10 per cent or more.

“I also think this has the potential to help make Manitoba a more attractive place for physicians to work, and this is important because right now we are struggling with a physician shortage in a highly competitive recruitment environment.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca