Four days a week, family physicians practice their profession. They treat patients.
Then on the fifth day, the 6,000 family physicians in Quebec are transformed… into civil servants.
They have to fill out countless forms from insurance companies. From the CNESST and other government agencies. Employers to justify sick leave.
Some CPEs and schools even ask for a doctor’s prescription to…give children Tempra, Tylenol or sunscreen. (It’s not a joke, it happens from time to time.)
Among other paperwork, physicians must also manage faxes (eg pharmacists), labs, follow-ups with medical specialists and the administration of their family medicine group (FMG).
Result: Quebec family physicians spend 24% of their time on paperwork (9.7 hours of paperwork per 40 hours of work), according to a survey conducted last year by the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec ( FMOQ). The problem is not unique to Quebec: we arrived at substantially the same figures in Nova Scotia and Massachusetts.
The FMOQ wants to challenge the Government of Quebec and the various stakeholders (insurance companies, employers, CNESST, SAAQ) over the next year.
It’s time to bring all these beautiful people together in a room to tell them: enough foolishness!
About 20% of Quebecers do not have family doctors. Those who have one cannot always see it quickly. And doctors spend a quarter of their time filling out often medically useless paperwork?
The Legault government, which does not have the reputation of liking unnecessary bureaucracy, must put its nose in it. As manager of the health system and as the largest employer in the province.
We will also have to find a way to discipline insurance companies and employers so that they stop systematically asking for doctor’s notes. Good luck, it won’t be easy. Unless everyone shows goodwill.
It is not normal that the Government of Quebec, as an employer, requires a doctor’s note or a disability report from the employer for any absence of more than three days. Really, a doctor’s note for a gastro that’s bedridden for four days?
It is not normal that insurers sometimes require a doctor’s note to reimburse physiotherapy costs. When you have dental insurance, the dentist’s diagnosis is sufficient. Why is it different for other healthcare professionals like physiotherapists and psychologists?
It is not normal that all employers and insurance companies do not use standardized forms for insurance. For example, some CIUSSSs and CISSSs do not use them for their employees.
It’s not normal that a doctor sometimes has to fill out the new 16-page (!) form in order for a patient to get the federal disability tax credit.
At least the SAAQ no longer requires a doctor’s note for all drivers over 75. “The SAAQ has just saved us 100,000 consultations a year,” says Dr.r Marc-André Amyot, president of the FMOQ. That’s 100,000 more consultations for “real patients”.
Of course, family doctors will always have a little paperwork to fill out. The FMOQ would like to reduce the time devoted to it from 24% to 10%. It was the norm 15 years ago, recalls the DD Sophie Bernier, who practices family medicine in Lac-Saint-Jean.
If we succeeded, all the hours saved would amount to hiring 600 additional family doctors, calculates the FMOQ. Reminder: approximately 400-450 new family physicians are trained each year in Quebec.
Definitely worth eliminating unnecessary paperwork from doctors.