Doctors believe government regulations create work unnecessarily

DoctorDoctor. Photo: pixabay.com

Pupils and students who must demonstrate the medical reasons for their absences from school have become a major additional burden on GPs, said Allmennlegeforeningen (the Public Association of General Practitioners).

After the government introduced new absence limits in secondary schools, which were set at 10%, absenteeism dropped sharply. Meanwhile,
many GPs said that while the absenteeism may have dropped, their workload had increased sharply.

They said the new rules entail unnecessary work.
In a survey conducted by the Norwegian Medical Association, and sent out to Norwegian GPs, 36.5% of respondents answered that the new rules
have created problems for them in their daily work, according to Klassekampen newspaper.

The survey was sent to 4,834 doctors by email, and received 1,816 responses.

‘It’s good that students go to school. There are many positive benefits to it, but it is unnecessary for us doctors to have to sit and receive patients so that we can write statements and certificates that have little consequence for medical treatment, or investigation’, said the general manager of Allmennlegeforeningen, Tom Ole Øren.

96.6% of doctors who responded stated that they now experience more inquiries related to the certificate writing after the introduction of the new government absence policy.

 
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today