The Fédération des médecins spécialisé du Québec (FMSQ) emphasizes that many of its members doubt that Bill 68 can “significantly” reduce their administrative burden. The union believes that the legislative text must be “more ambitious,” particularly by imposing measures to simplify medical paperwork.
Consultations on Bill 68, “An Act mainly to reduce the administrative burden on physicians,” opened Tuesday at the National Assembly in Quebec City. This legislative text, which was tabled last May by Labour Minister Jean Boulet, would prohibit, among other things, private insurers from requiring a medical consultation to be reimbursed for services provided by a professional, such as a massage therapist.
However, 47% of associations affiliated with the FMSQ believe that the measure will have no effect on reducing the administrative burden on their members, according to a survey carried out last July and August by the union.
In a memorandum presented to parliamentarians on Tuesday, the Fédération des médecins spécialisé du Québec concluded that the bill “constitutes a step in the right direction, but that it does not cast a wide enough net to truly reduce the administrative burden on our members.”
On a daily basis, these professionals are faced with a multitude of forms that, “although fulfilling the same function, vary from one another,” writes the FMSQ. “We therefore propose the adoption of a single form model that physicians could use to assess the patient’s state of health and disability, regardless of the insurer or authority that requests it.”
Special consultations on Bill 68 will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. In addition to the FMSQ and the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ), other stakeholders such as the Association des psychologues du Québec and the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec will be heard.
To reduce doctors’ paperwork, the legislation seeks to prohibit private insurers from requiring a medical consultation to be reimbursed for technical aids, such as a cane or an orthosis. In addition, employers would no longer be allowed to request a doctor’s note for short-term absences, such as those due to flu or an accident.
Further details will follow.