B.C. family doctors renew plea to scrap sick notes: Its really inefficient [Video]

British Columbia’s family doctors are renewing their plea for the provincial government to ban employer-mandated sick notes, saying the practice is bogging physicians down in red tape.

The BC College of Family Physicians says writing sick notes is “not a medically necessary service,” and leaves physicians with a heavy administrative burden that eats away at time better spent treating patients.

“It only takes a moment, it’s true but it does take an appointment spot,” Dr. Charlene Lui, president of Doctors of B.C.

The Canadian Medical Association estimates doctors spend the equivalent of six million patient visits a year just writing notes for employers.