Doctors in Ontario are set to see a significant reduction in hours spent on paperwork, thanks to “common sense” changes to be implemented by the provincial government.
These include switching from sick notes to other tools that employers can use, expanding an innovative program that features electronic medical notes produced using artificial intelligence, and improving the platform to make it convenient to autofill and share forms.
Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, said: “Our government is making common sense changes that will reduce the administrative burden on family doctors so that they can spend more time caring for patients instead of doing duplicative or unnecessary paperwork.”
Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) president and chief executive Stephen Frank (pictured above) has expressed support for the measures.
“Our members agree with the government of Ontario: doctors should be focussed on patients not filling out forms,” he said.
“Insurers are doing our part to reduce the admin burden doctors face. We’ve been working with the Ontario Medical Association, Canadian Medical Association, and others to leverage technology to reduce the number of insurance-related forms doctors need to complete.”
Initiatives already undertaken on the insurance side include using one simplified template form for disability insurance, whether for short-term or long-term disability.
In collaboration with employers, insurers are also reducing and eliminating the need for doctor referrals for certain services.
“These initiatives, in addition to other changes aimed at putting patients over paperwork, will free up to 95,000 hours annually for physicians to put back into their practices caring for patients,” the Ontario government noted.
“Cutting unnecessary paperwork like sick notes and streamlining note-taking during patient appointments are more ways that the Ontario government, through Your Health: A Plan For Connected and Convenient Care, is making it easier and faster for people to connect to the care they need, where and when they need it.”
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