Unnecessary paperwork is costing Canada’s health system the equivalent of 9,000 full-time physicians, according to a new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). The study estimates that 20 million hours a year are lost to administrative tasks, much of it driven by insurance and government forms.
For individual physicians, that burden adds up to as many as 199 hours annually, or more than a month of working time, raising growing concerns for life and health insurers, disability carriers, and their brokers about inefficiencies embedded in today’s claims and underwriting processes.
“Health care challenges, such as long wait times, emergency department closures, and staffing shortages, affect everyone, including family doctors that own practices. Doctors are spending too much time on work that could be eliminated entirely or done by someone else. Cutting red tape isn’t optional anymore, it’s a critical solution we can’t afford to ignore,” said Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB executive vice‑president of advocacy.
Insurance and disability forms in the spotlight
Most physicians (85%) told CFIB and CMA that unnecessary work stems mainly from health‑system processes, but insurance companies (76%) and government forms (59%) were close behind, followed by pharmacies (58%) and electronic record systems (51%). The most demanding tasks include insurance paperwork, referrals and test requisitions, and electronic documentation. The Disability Tax Credit (DTC), private insurance forms and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Disability are among the most time‑consuming, according to the report.
Separate analysis from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) showed how acute the problem has become. Each DTC form can take up to an hour to complete, and roughly 250,000 DTC applications were processed in 2022, which is the equivalent of more than one million lost patient visits. With the new Canada Disability Benefit relying on the DTC as an eligibility gate, family doctors warn that form volumes could increase by more than 50% in coming years.
CFPC has called on Ottawa to amend the Income Tax Act to remove the requirement for family physicians to certify DTC applications, and to simplify federal health forms such as CPP Disability.
Insurers start to respond – but more is expected
The life and health sector has also begun to react. In October 2025, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) announced that insurers are moving to a single harmonised disability medical form to initiate both short‑ and long‑term disability claims, progressively retiring company‑specific forms.
“Reducing the number of medical forms is important, particularly at a time when our healthcare system is under strain,” said Stephen Frank, CLHIA president and CEO.
The CFIB–CMA report suggested physicians are ready for more change. A strong majority (72%) support eliminating some administrative tasks and better system integration, particularly through interoperable patient records (71%). Top recommendations include simplifying insurer processes, delegating routine form‑filling to other health professionals and providing protected, paid administrative time.
Artificial intelligence is also emerging as an insurance‑adjacent tool. Canada Health Infoway’s national AI Scribe Program, launched in June 2025, is funding up to 10,000 licences for AI‑powered documentation tools to help primary care clinicians automate note‑taking and follow‑up documentation. The CFIB–CMA report noted that 28% of physicians are already using at least one AI scribe tool, with another 42% interested.
“Reducing paperwork would ease stress and give doctors more time for quality patient care, professional growth and personal well‑being. Even small cuts to the physician administrative burden can make a big difference for millions of Canadians,” said Keyli Loeppky, CFIB director of interprovincial affairs.
