Restricting Sick Notes

April 2024
Professional Satisfaction | Resolution

Doctors of BC believes that requirements for employees to provide sick notes to satisfy an employer’s medical absenteeism policy is often an inefficient use of physicians’ time, places an avoidable burden on health sector resources, and unnecessarily exposes the population to communicable diseases by forcing ill patients to leave their homes. As such, Doctors of BC recommends that the provincial government restrict public and private sector employers’ ability to require sick notes to circumstances where a patient has taken extended leave and where a physician can provide meaningful clinical insight.

Creating Space for Doctors to Be Doctors: A Cumulative Impact Lens on Physician Demands

December 2022
Professional Satisfaction | Policy Paper
Link 1.21 MB

Doctors of BC Position: Physicians are faced with a growing number of demands that can lead to unmanageable time constraints, and expectations to deliver beyond what can be reasonably expected in a single day. Many of these demands, such as paperwork, charting, and EMR management, do not allow physicians time to provide the best possible patient care, and can negatively affect physician wellbeing. Doctors of BC calls on all health care stakeholders to carefully consider how any new ask or proposed change may affect the wider health care system’s accessibility and quality. Health care stakeholders are encouraged to use the Burdens Solutions Tool, a new framework for assessing new, existing, and potential demands on physician time.

Physician Burdens

February 2021
Professional Satisfaction | Policy Statement
Link 663.53 KB

Doctors of BC Position: Physicians are faced with a growing number of demands that can lead to unmanageable time constraints and expectations to deliver beyond what can be reasonably expected in a single day. Doctors of BC encourages all health care stakeholders to carefully consider how any new ask or proposed change may ripple through the health care system to impact quality and accessibility of care and physician workflow using a ‘cumulative impact lens’ prior to implementation.