In 2020, Nova Scotian doctors reported that they collectively spent 1.36 million hours a year on administrative tasks. While much of that work is important, doctors have also said that 500,000 hours of this work is unnecessary.
Since then, more than 45 actions have been identified and are either completed or are well underway to reduce red tape for doctors and give them back their valuable time.
Together, these actions have cut nearly 425,000 hours a year, exceeding government’s target to reduce red tape by 400,000 hours.
| Area | Total Hours Saved | Example Action |
| Healthcare Professionals Working to Their Full Potential | 162,780 | Physician Assistants are augmenting various care teams, and Registered Nurses are now onboarding patients at some collaborative care practices and admitting patients into hospital. |
| Reducing Paperwork | 131,230 | High volume forms have been improved by making them easier to understand and faster to complete, and new legislation limits the use of sick notes by employers. |
| Embracing Technology | 103,617 | Work is underway to clean up EMRs for primary care physicians, removing old and outdated forms, ensuring the existing inventory of provincial forms is current, and accurate. Moreover, best practice form design guidelines are being developed, and a new procedure for governance of EMR forms will be rolled out. |
| Improving Legislation & Bylaws | 17,190 | Nova Scotia Health and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia have updated their internal rules make it easier to come to and work in Nova Scotia. |
| Updating Processes | 9,820 | Mobile primary healthcare clinics, staffed by nurse practitioners and other primary care providers, improve access to care and reduce demands on emergency departments. |
Moving forward, there is no question that there is much more to do. With input and support of Doctors Nova Scotia, the Office of Service Efficiency will identify other areas of red tape impacting doctors, work with others to remove it, and measure the impact on doctors, patients, and the healthcare system as a whole.
For the full list of red tape reducing actions, see the Office’s 2024 Annual Report.
Forms and processes
Click here for a round up of changes to forms (and where to find them) and process to the end of 2023.
Measuring physician administrative burden
Physicians raised unnecessary administrative burden as an issue impacting patient care, professional practice and the effectiveness of the health-care system.
Since 2019, Doctors Nova Scotia (DNS), with the support of the Department of Health and Wellness, has worked with the provincial Office of Regulatory Affairs and Service Effectiveness (ORASE) to reduce physician administrative burden.
Measuring regulatory or administrative burden is critical to understanding and communicating its significance.
To better understand the size and scope of physician administrative burden, the office worked with DNS and other key stakeholders on a survey to quantify physician administrative burden and its impact. With this work, Nova Scotia becomes this first province in Canada to measure physician administrative burden.
Key findings from the survey include:
- On average, Nova Scotia physicians spend more than one full day per week (10.6 hours) on administrative tasks
- Physicians reported that 38% of this time was spent on unnecessary administrative tasks: 24% was work that could be done by another role and 14% was work that could be eliminated entirely
- The top contributors to unnecessary administrative burden were completing medical forms, doctor’s notes, business operations, billing (including shadow billing), licensing and privileging
- The health system itself, including the complexity of the governing and oversight bodies, also contributed to physician administrative burden
- Physicians reported administrative burden was a significant contributor to burnout and that they could use the freed-up time to achieve better work/life balance and patient care
Read a full analysis of the survey results here.
