Cleaning up paperwork: No more doctor’s paper at school

Parents of students who are absent from school for five days or less no longer need to obtain a doctor’s note, except for certain ministerial exams.

Our Parliamentary Office has learned that Quebec continues to clean up paperwork imposed on family doctors.

The Ministry of Education sent a letter to the network yesterday. It states that “School Service Centres, School Boards and Private Educational Institutions are no longer required to provide a medical note to justify the absence of a student on health grounds during local examinations. Not exceeding 5 days when absent’.

Due to the autonomy of school service centres, Quebec cannot demand the use of this directive, but calls on them to review their absence policies accordingly.

The measure must be used for “any type of teaching, self-learning or assessment activity”.

Ministerial Review

Hence, a student suffering from diarrhea or fever no longer has to go to the doctor’s waiting room to get medical notes.

The only exception is that a doctor’s note is mandatory to skip the ministerial exams of 4 people^e and 5^e Secondary education was imposed on all students.

4 In the case of ministerial tests^e and 6^e years of primary school and 2^e Secondary school, the Ministry of Education writes, “The use of a medical note is left to the discretion of the administration and school board”.

According to our information, Quebec hopes to free up about 100,000 appointments annually, although it is difficult to estimate the exact number.

Family

Health Minister Christian Dubey has begun a sweeping cleanup of forms and other administrative requirements that add to doctors’ workloads.

In November 2022, an internal study conducted by the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) revealed that physicians spend 9.7 hours per week filling out forms.

Since then, Minister Dubey has announced several measures to free doctors.

Last May, Quebec announced a bill to bar insurance companies and employers from requiring medical referrals for reimbursement.

The government plans to free up 500,000 clinic slots.

Earlier this winter, CNESST had to rely on doctors’ judgment to establish clinical follow-up schedules.

Negotiations

The moves represent rare good news in relations between the FMOQ and Minister Christian Dubey, who have been at odds over negotiations to renew the framework agreement for family doctors.

Last weekend, Christian Dubé accused family doctors of taking Quebecers “hostage.”

The bonus in question ends today, but the minister says he is confident of reaching a new agreement before the end of the day. “Negotiations are currently underway,” he said yesterday, stressing that a conciliator had been appointed in the matter.