Report: Alberta doctors burdened by administrative work

An Alberta woman received a letter in the mail a few weeks ago saying her family doctor in Wetaskiwin is leaving the province.

Now Kathy Ward is unable to find another local doctor who is taking on new patients.

“The first thing I did was cry because like I say, we are at an age where we are getting older,” said Ward. “I don’t want to move because I don’t have a doctor anymore, so it’s very unsettling.”

The doctor’s departure is linked to new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) that suggests Alberta physicians spend more than 2.1 million hours a year on unnecessary administrative work.

“Red tape hurts everyone, and we should be looking to reduce it wherever we can, especially where it promises to free up time in areas we care about,” said Laura Jones, CFIB executive vice-president and co-author of the report.

In a recent CFIB survey, 88 per cent of small-business owners said that addressing health-care challenges should be a top priority for governments.

Other CFIB research found 89 per cent of Canadians and 87 per cent of business owners agree governments should focus on reducing physician paperwork to free up time for more patient visits.

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Katherine Kasha, a doctor and president of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association, says the red tape burden is forcing physicians to work longer days.

“We are doing an increasing amount of administrative burden and I was just reading a letter from another doctor to me, expressing her distress that she has not had a day off in six months, ever. Even though she’s only supposed to be in the clinic however many days a week.

“For me, it’s three days a week. I haven’t had a day off in months.”

Province to explore cutting physician red tape

Dale Nally, the minister of service Alberta and red tape reduction, admitted Monday the province hadn’t looked into cutting physician red tape largely due to the pandemic concerns, but will do so now.

“I’m very excited about how we can make life better for Albertans by having doctors spend less time filling out paperwork, and spending more time with their patients,” he said.

Alberta Health says the province added 250 doctors in 2022 and are taking steps to boost those numbers, including possibly opening medical training facilities in Lethbridge and Red Deer.

“We’re moving forward with new efforts to recruit doctors in smaller communities, including RESIDE, which is seeing success with the expanded criteria announced recently. A number of new physicians have been recruited in the first year of the revised program, and we’ll be announcing an update shortly,” said Steve Buick, press secretary for the minister of health.

“We sympathize with Albertans who don’t have a family doctor; it’s a longstanding issue across the country, made more difficult by the strain of the pandemic on family physician practices.

“We need more physicians, especially family physicians, and we’re making real progress in adding them.”

‘Unstable political climate’

But Ward, who spoke alongside the opposition NDP Monday, says that will do little to fill the void left by her doctor.

“He cited his main reason for leaving is quote ‘the unstable political climate within the Alberta government and Alberta Health. Between unilaterally ending agreements with physicians, to replacing the entire health authority board, this is a large reason why so many physicians choose to leave,’” said Ward.

CFIB says a 10 per cent reduction in red tape equates to an estimated 656,361 patient visits annually in Alberta.