TORONTO — Each year, Canadian physicians spend more than a full month of their time on unnecessary administrative work, a new report showed. Eliminating this work would free up the equivalent of 9000 full-time physicians.
According to Losing Doctors to Desk Work, a joint report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) that was released on January 26, Canadian physicians lose 19.8 million hours each year to unnecessary administrative tasks.
“In an environment where we have major [physician] shortages across the country, this [issue] is critically important. And it isn’t just about paperwork; it’s about fixing a system that steals precious time from patients and their physicians,” said CMA President Margot Burnell, MD, during a press briefing.
Administrative Burdens Affect Physicians
The report is based on a survey of 1924 practicing physicians, medical residents, and fellows in Canada. On average, physicians in Canada spend 9 hours/wk on administrative tasks, 47% of which are not needed, said physicians. This total includes work stemming from health system processes, insurance companies, government forms, pharmacies, and electronic record systems.
The most burdensome tasks include insurance paperwork, referrals and test requisitions, and electronic documentation, according to physicians surveyed.
Administrative burdens weigh heavily on physicians, with 93% saying that it disrupts their work-life balance. Similarly, over 90% said that unnecessary paperwork reduces professional fulfillment and contributes to burnout.
“Too many family doctors are currently drowning in administrative burden, which affects their availability, morale, and, frankly, patient access to family physicians and specialists,” Zainab Abdurrahman, MD, president of the Ontario Medical Association, told Medscape News Canada.
She emphasized that the administrative burden does not comprise care-related tasks, such as updating patient charts. “It’s the fact that physicians are being asked to complete so many forms and administrative requirements for all levels of government and third-party organizations like insurance,” she said.
More than half the physicians surveyed plan to cut their hours, with one quarter considering retiring earlier than expected or leaving medicine in the next 2 years, according to the report. Many medical students may also be avoiding going into family medicine because of concerns over the administrative burden, said Abdurrahman.
Physicians surveyed said removing unnecessary administrative work could allow them to improve their work-life balance, spend more time with their patients, and take on additional patients.
Aging Population Adds to Administrative Tasks
Research published in 2025 in Canadian Family Physician noted that the administrative burden is also contributing to the primary care crisis in Canada, thus leading to increased burnout among clinicians and reduced access to care for patients.
“The tension between having to do work that you can’t control and being responsible for people’s healthcare needs contributes to low morale and, in some cases, burnout,” study author Ruth Lavergne, PhD, associate professor of family medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, told Medscape News Canada.
One factor driving administrative burden in primary care is the aging population, she added. More patients have multiple chronic conditions that need ongoing, often complex, care management. “So there’s more work that involves coordination within health systems,” she said.
“While there is the potential for technology to ease some of that administrative burden, there are situations where things aren’t implemented in a way that really works well with clinic workflow,” said Lavergne. “That in itself can be a driver of administrative work.”
Can Technology Help?
The CMA is supporting efforts to reduce the administrative burden through its Health Care Unburdened Grant program, which has funded 12 initiatives across Canada, Burnell said during the briefing.
This initiative includes an effort in Manitoba to eliminate sick note requests where medical expertise does not add meaningful value. It also involves deploying a scribe tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI), following rigorous implementation and evaluation studies in three emergency departments in Alberta.
But technology does not always make it easier for physicians to care for patients, said Michael Weldon, MD, clinical lecturer in emergency medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, who was on the team that developed that scribe tool.
“If an electronic medical record requires 300 clicks an hour to use, that in itself is a burden,” he told Medscape News Canada. This burden can also detract from the physician-patient relationship. “What happens is that you stop looking at the patient and you stop listening because your mind is so occupied with all of these other things” that must happen with the electronic medical record.
However, AI technology has the potential to reduce some of the administrative burden that prevents physicians from being fully present with patients. With the AI scribe, “I don’t have to type or do anything with the computer while you’re telling your story,” said Weldon. “I can listen to you and look you in the eye and get that human connection back.”
The report was funded by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian Medical Association. Lavergne and Weldon reported no relevant financial relationships.
Shawn Radcliffe is a freelance health and science journalist based in Ontario, Canada, with more than 15 years writing about general health, medical research, mental health, and other topics for print and online publications. Prior to this, he did laboratory and clinical research and research administration at universities in Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon. He has a master’s degree in science education from Drexel University.
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