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Family doctors in B.C. are calling on the province to cut digital red tape, saying outdated systems and unnecessary paperwork are slowing patient care and increasing wait times.
It comes as a new national study shows doctors across the province are spending three million hours per year handling administrative work.
The latest report, released by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian Medical Association, released as part of the Red Tape Awareness Week, found that doctors in B.C. spend nearly 10 hours a week on administrative work.
It estimates that eliminating unnecessary paperwork in B.C. could free up an equivalent of more than 1,400 full-time doctors.
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Victoria-based family physician Dr. Jennifer Lush says she personally spends about 17 hours a week on paperwork, time she says could otherwise be used to see more patients.
“It’s a barrier to delivering care,” said Lush, who is also the president of the B.C. College of Family Physicians.
She says fragmented and outdated systems, including continued reliance on fax machines, often delays diagnoses and treatment.
“If I fax off a requisition for a medical imaging study and it goes through this outmoded technology to the medical imaging department, it often gets lost,” she said. “And that’s not necessarily picked up until weeks later when I’m following up with the patient.”
Dr. Jennifer Lush, president of the B.C. College of Family Physicians, says reliance on outdated systems, including fax machines, are forcing doctors to spend hours on paperwork instead of seeing patients. (Amanda Grant/CBC)
Lush says health-care facilities across the province rely on fragmented electronic medical record systems.
“At the moment all electronic medical records systems are kept by physicians and there’s many different systems across the province,” the Victoria, B.C., physician added. “What [information] I have in my office cannot easily be exchanged with what is at a local hospital.”
Much of the unnecessary work comes from insurance paperwork, government forms, pharmacies and electronic record systems, according to the national report. It says referrals, test requisitions and insurance documentation are the most time consuming.
“Doctors tell us red tape has them feeling exhausted, frustrated, and burned out,” added Kalith Nanayakkara, senior policy analyst at CFIB. “Nearly a third of doctors say that they would discourage medical students from entering their specialty because of the red tape involved.”
As solutions, the report recommends that the province simplify insurance processes, shift some paperwork to other health professionals and offer doctors paid time to handle administrative work.
It also points to incorporating AI tools in medical practice, which it says can save doctors an average of 64 minutes of work per day.
Josie Osborne, B.C.’s minister of health, says reducing paperwork and integrating electronic medical records across the province is a top priority. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne says the province has made some progress, including taking steps to eliminate sick note requirements and using digital tools such as AI scribes to reduce documentation time.
“We hear physicians and we’re taking this very seriously,” Osborne said. “We are working with doctors of B.C. on issues around AI scribes and the ability to use technology right in the examination room so that physicians have more time and contact with their patients.”
She says the province is also working to fully integrate electronic medical records across the province and will have more updates on that soon.