She also said nearly six million Canadians don't have access to a family doctor.

"That is not a marginal issue, it is a design failure," she said.

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Cook said reducing administrative burdens, increasing digital interoperability and making family medicine more accessible for early-career physicians are three "practical" and "immediate" actions that the government can take to support current doctors and strengthen access to care.

"The federal government promised nearly half a billion dollars to reduce administrative burden and that commitment needs to be fulfilled," she said.

In 2023, the federal government pledged $505 million over five years to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Canada Health Infoway and federal data partners to "improve digital health tools, develop new health data indicators, support the use of data to improve safety and quality of care and support the creation of a centre of excellence on health worker data."

Cook added that family physicians report spending on average 10 to 19 hours per week on administrative tasks.

"The fastest way to increase access to care in Canada is to give family doctors their time back," she said.

• Cross Country Checkup is asking: Are you looking for a family doctor? Are private clinics the solution to Canada’s healthcare crisis? Leave your comment here and our team may get in touch or read your comment on air. 

Cook also said family doctors are "unnecessarily used as gatekeepers" for patients to access the Disability Tax Credit.'

The 16-page form can take up to an hour to complete, she said, adding that with the rollout of the Canada Disability Benefit, administrative demands on doctors could grow. 

Cook also called for "long-term funding" for AI transcription in family medicine.

These tools can "save three to four hours, per physician, per week" and allow doctors to engage more directly with patients in a visit, she said.

"That time translates directly into more patient visits and more sustainability for physicians." 

The urgency of Bill S-5 

Cook also called for health information to be connected and accessible regardless of location of care.

"Health information systems in Canada largely don't connect to one another," Cook said. Due to this, medical records can be "fractured into multiple systems" with no single coherent record.

"If Canadians can travel from clinic to clinic, city to city and across the country, their health records should be able to as well," she said.

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The Connected Care for Canadians Act (Bill S-5) is an "important step to mandate interoperability," she said.

According to Health Canada, the bill "would require all information technology (IT) companies providing digital health services in Canada to adopt common standards to support protected and secure information exchange across various systems."

Cook urged federal policymakers to adopt the bill "quickly" and "ensure that it's supported by a robust set of regulations to achieve real improvements soon."

According to the Canadian Income Survey, close to three million Canadians aged 15 and older in the provinces reported unmet health care needs in 2022.