Already-high rates of physician burnout continue to climb in Nova Scotia. Physician burnout impacts patient care. A Canadian Medical Association survey found that half of the physician workforce is considering reducing their clinical workload.3 This comes at a time when more than 150,000 people in Nova Scotia are without a family doctor and wait times for specialty services can be very long. Our province must invest in physician wellness to ensure physicians continue to practise and patient care is not adversely affected. Reducing unnecessary administrative burden and investing in AI assistants are two ways to help.
Continue to invest in reducing unnecessary physician administrative burden
Nova Scotia is already leading the country in reducing unnecessary administrative burden for doctors. The province expects to have eliminated 400,000 hours of work by the end of 2024, yet there is more work to do. In addition to reducing the existing administrative burden, we must also work together to ensure less administrative burden is being introduced through new initiatives. We want this work to eventually result in a culture change that sees the end of the duplication, overreach and complexity of administrative tasks. This will improve the efficiency and efficacy of the health-care system for all.
Invest in artificial intelligence, specifically AI scribes
Doctors see the potential of AI scribes to reduce administrative burden by automating note taking. AI scribes can give physicians more concentrated time during patient appointments. The Ontario Medical Association recently completed a study that showed the use of AI scribes saved family doctors three to four hours of work per week. More importantly, 75% of doctors reported a reduction in their mental load, with 48% reporting that the quality of care they provided increased because of the reduction in mental fatigue. By providing family doctors with an AI scribe and guidance on best practices, we will see better job satisfaction for doctors and improved patient care.
Other priorities
Invest in primary care infrastructure and collaborative clinic implementation
Our province must continue to support primary care and work to remove barriers for the successful implementation of collaborative care practices. Learn more
Retain our physician workforce
Our province must collectively turn our efforts toward creating a supportive transition into practice. This will help maximize the investments being made to recruit doctors to Nova Scotia by ensuring physicians have a good experience here and decide to stay long term. Learn more
Prioritize interoperability
Our province must continue to work toward an integrated digital Nova Scotia health system that supports physicians and is easy to access in hospital settings and in the community. Learn more
What can you do?
Talk with local candidates on these important health-care priorities. The candidates will want to hear directly from physicians as community leaders. Personal contact is the most effective form of communication.
Read the health care platforms for the three main political parties before meeting with candidates:
- Liberal plan
- NDP plan (not yet released)
- PC plan (not yet released)