Reducing Administrative Burden for BC Physicians

A joint effort by Doctors of BC, the Ministry of Health and Health Quality BC funded through the Physician Master Agreement.

Administrative burden describes duplicative or overly complex documentation or tasks which includes forms, out-of-date processes, and/or processes that impact a patient’s timely access to quality of care. It includes documentation, forms, processes or tasks that require completion by providers or clinical teams, and areas where the cumulative administrative load negatively impacts time.

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The Impact of Administrative Burden

Administrative burden is not the result of one process or form. It is the cumulative impact of the many services, processes, tasks or forms clinicians interact with every day.

The cumulative impacts include productivity, work-life balance, burnout, ability to provide timely access to care and job satisfaction.

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Administrative burden is being felt by everyone, physicians, nurses, pharmacists…We start our day feeling overwhelmed as we try to catch up on the paperwork that has built up from the day before.

BC Physician

Within health care, there are few, if any, resources more precious and closely managed than time.

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A Shared Commitment to Change

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Doctors of BC and Health Authorities the Health Quality BC project team is leading engagement, analysis and the development of recommendations in three key areas:

  • Special Authority – Forms that grant full or partial coverage to a drug or device that otherwise would not be covered or only partially covered and is provided in specific medical circumstances.
  • Medical Imaging – Health Authorities may take on the responsibility of contacting patients regarding their appointments where physicians’ offices currently manage these processes.
  • BC Cancer Agency – Identifying specific forms and processes for review.

Beyond these focus areas, we have established a prioritization framework that helps to identify additional administrative burdens, where recommendations can support sustainable, system-wide improvements.

Collaborating for Meaningful Solutions

Addressing administrative burden requires a system-wide approach that prioritizes engagement, innovation, and collaboration, leading to effective, sustainable process and policy changes.

To ensure that realistic solutions are identified, HQBC is:

  • Engaging people with lived experience of administrative burden, including patients, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, allied health and administrative staff, to date over 150 interviews have been conducted
  • Building trusting relationships based on mutual understanding across the health system
  • Bridging silos and connecting groups working with shared purpose
  • Sharing learning and building capacity for others to identify and address their administrative burdens
  • Creating partnerships nationally and internationally to identify opportunities for collaboration.

Together, we can work to reduce and eliminate existing administrative burdens and prevent the introduction of new burdens into the system. 

It is validating to know that someone is doing this work, and I am not alone in these experiences.”

BC Physician

Administrative Burdens Working Group Partners

Have a physician administrative burden to share?

Contact our team at adminburden@healthqualitybc.ca to share your experiences.