Demands on Canada's doctors are getting increasingly intense, according to a new study that shows patients' complex care needs are leading to increased wait times for appointments.

The National Physician Survey (NPS) surveyed 12,000 practicing Canadian physicians in 2010. It found that expectations of doctors are on the rise, with 72 per cent of respondents saying their patients loads are growing more demanding, and 63 per cent listing chronic conditions of as a factor.

"More and more people are living with one or more chronic conditions," explained Dr. Sandy Buchman, president-elect of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, on Monday's Canada AM. "Every time we see a patient, it's more and more complicated. As a result, there's more of an administrative workload. It takes up more and more time... to do that job properly."

Aside from chronic illnesses, doctors blamed the increased workload on the following factors:

  • increasing administrative work and paperwork (61 per cent)
  • aging population (59 per cent)
  • increasing patient expectations (58 per cent)

"The growing demands on physicians' time translates into access concerns that must be addressed." said college president Dr. Robert Boulay in a release issued Monday. "The health care needs of aging baby boomers are being experienced by physicians across the country. We must prepare now for the full impact of this demographic shift while we continue to focus on the health care needs of all other Canadians in the years ahead."

Buchan said the survey found increased wait times in both hospitals and at doctors' offices, even though more doctors are practicing now than at the time of the group's previous survey.

"Access to care has really declined over the past three years," said Buchman. "(Wait times) have still gone up."

The survey found that about 61 per cent of urgent care cases were seen by family doctors within one day, while 32 per cent were seen within a day by specialists. This is down from 65 per cent and 37 per cent in 2007.

For non-urgent care, the national average wait to see a family doctor is about three weeks, with about 12 weeks the norm for specialists. The shortest waits are in Saskatchewan and British Columbia, where 38 per cent of doctors see non-urgent cases within a week, compared to 11 per cent in Quebec, the province with the worst record for non-urgent access to care.

The study also found:

  • 58 per cent of Canadian family physicians and general practitioners are accepting new patients;
  • An average physician's work week was 51.4 hours (compared to 51.7 hours in 2007);
  • The time spent in direct patient care is decreasing (32.7 hours per week in 2010 compared to 33.3 hours per week in 2007); and
  • 29 per cent of physicians indicated that they plan to reduce their hours of clinical work within two years compared to 22 per cent in 2007.

Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti, president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, urged governments and medical organization to heed the results of the study and focus on the problem spots it discovered.

"The NPS findings illustrate clearly that Canada's health care system requires immediate action in two fundamental areas: access to timely care and sustainability of the system," he said in the release.

The survey has been conducted by the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada every three years since 2004.