Quebec adopts Bill 68 to reduce doctors’ paperwork

Quebecers will no longer need a doctor’s note to be absent from work for up to three days due to a cold.

According to Bill 68, this represents an example of how the new law will work, given that it was recently adopted by the CAQ to reduce paperwork for doctors.

Labour Minister Jean Boulet and Health Minister Christian Dubé made the announcement in a press release on Tuesday afternoon.

The government estimates that various measures in Bill 68 will free up 600,000 appointment slots per year.

In a parliamentary committee last month, the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) warned that reducing the burden of insurance forms for doctors would not significantly increase the number of appointments.

FMOQ president Dr. Marc-André Amyot said that this would mainly be useful to reduce their workload and doctors can use “the time slot in a much more relevant and optimal way.”

Among other measures, doctors will now decide how often they need to see a patient with medium or long-term disability.

It will no longer be up to private insurers who imposed appointments for medical follow-up so that the patient can keep their compensation.

Furthermore, people requiring technical aids (canes, crutches, etc.) will no longer need medical papers for reimbursement.

The government is continuing its efforts to give more power to certain health professionals instead of having everything go through the doctor. The new law will allow an insurer to reimburse the cost of services received from a health professional or social services.

The patient will no longer need a doctor’s prescription to be reimbursed for a visit to a physiotherapist, among other things.

“Currently, doctors spend too much of their time on administrative tasks, to the detriment of their primary mission: caring for their patients. Reducing the paperwork associated with medical appointments for private insurers and employers is an important element in successfully improving access to health care,” said Dubé in a press release.

Minister Boulet also acknowledged that Quebecers wait too long to see a doctor.

“The adoption of this bill sends a strong message: we are committed to improving access to medical care, supporting our doctors and offering everyone the best possible care. The main addition to this bill is undoubtedly the single form, intended to reduce the administrative burden on doctors by simplifying and standardizing the documents they must complete,” he said.

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–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews