Creating space for doctors to be doctors: New policy paper on physician demands

Medicine is a demanding profession, and the pressure physicians experience continues—in many cases, negatively impacting physician wellbeing and the health care system overall. Individually, demands are not necessarily stressful, but the accumulation and compound effect of constant and multiple pressures is adversely affecting physician mental health. Doctors of BC has been engaging with members over the last several years to learn more about how you are affected, and what solutions can be implemented.  

Our just released policy paper: Creating Space for Doctors to Be Doctors: A Cumulative Impact Lens on Physician Demands, expands on solutions offered in our 2021 policy statement, and outlines a clear, coordinated plan to help reduce physician burdens, and allow doctors to concentrate on providing quality care to British Columbians. A two-page fact sheet condensing the findings of the report is also available.

A path forward

Doctors of BC is calling for a sustained, collaborative, and rapid approach to address excess physician demands, such as charting, paperwork, and managing EMRs that often subtract from valuable time spent taking care of patients, teaching students, or undertaking medical research projects. Solutions must involve all stakeholders including the Ministry of Health, health authorities, regulators, and third-parties in the health care sector.

Additional administrative demands on physicians are also being addressed in the 2022 Physician Master Agreement, which designates funding to support the development of working groups that will look at simplifying health authority forms, modifying the payment schedule to address re-referrals, and more.

The Burdens Solutions Tool: expanding on the cumulative impact lens

In our previous policy work we outlined the “cumulative impact lens,” a method stakeholders can use to re-think new, changing, or existing physician demands. Instead of viewing each task in isolation, stakeholders should consider the broad volume of work from various groups on health care delivery.

In this new policy paper, the Burdens Solutions Tool provides a framework for stakeholders to use when assessing physician demands in a cumulative way. It allows groups and organizations to review and assess new or existing demands that may be perceived as burdensome by physicians. Doctors of BC is committed to using this tool, and calls on all involved groups to do the same. We look forward to working with physicians, organizations, and other clinicians to address these concerns, and make critical change in support of health care quality and physician wellbeing, including:

• Education for clinical and administrative support staff
• Meaningful engagement opportunities for physicians in the development of BC’s digital health ecosystem
• Working with stakeholders to improve clarity and transparency in their communications

Please visit our Policy Database if you are interested in reading more about our extensive policy work on behalf of BC’s doctors.