Dr.Bill launches nationwide recognition campaign honouring Canada’s dedicated physicians amid rising burnout concerns

Dr.Bill, a medical billing platform powered by RBC, is committed to raising awareness and celebrating the dedication of physicians by giving Canadians the opportunity to thank their physicians through a virtual platform.

TORONTO, Apr. 24, 2024 – To honour the tireless dedication of physicians across the country as we approach National Physicians’ Day on May 1, Dr.Bill announced a recognition campaign that enables Canadians to submit digital messages of thanks to their physicians, today through the end of May. 

Physicians play a critical role in safeguarding the health and well-being of Canadians, often operating under immense pressure due to staffing shortages, extensive hours, patient volumes and administrative burdens. According to the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP), doctors spend 19.1 hours of their work week on documentation and other administrative work, and it is one of the main causes of physician burnout. Because of this, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) has reported that 40 per cent of physicians are considering retiring in the next five years, which could result in more Canadians without a family doctor. Today, more than 1 in 5 (6.5 million) Canadians are without a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

In 2023, Dr.Bill made a $150,000 donation to the Ontario Medical Foundation (OMF) to fund research grants for solutions to alleviate the causes of physician burnout, the results of which will be announced later this year. 

Since its inception, Dr.Bill has been committed to helping physicians reduce the administrative burden that takes them away from caring for their patients. With more than 11,000 physician clients, Dr.Bill processes 1.7 million claims every month.

“Physicians need long-term, sustainable solutions to alleviate the pressure they are facing, allowing them to focus on the important work they do in delivering patient care,” said Sarah Wilkinson, CEO of Dr.Bill. “We understand Canadian physicians have many pain points and while we look forward to additional information from research by doctors about physician burnout, we want to reaffirm our commitment to recognizing the incredible dedication of physicians.”

In tandem with messages of thanks to showcase gratitude from patients across the country, Dr.Bill is proud to announce that it will be celebrating the physicians and medical staff in parts of Northern Ontario at Health Sciences North Sudbury, Thunder Bay Regional and North Bay Regional on National Physicians’ Day (May 1). Physicians in the North tend to have to manage the same issues but across a larger land mass and with fewer community resources. In light of this, Dr.Bill is making this extra effort to recognize the deep dedication and unwavering commitment of northern Ontario physicians to patient care.

Recognize and thank physicians by submitting thank you messages here. These messages will be shared in celebration and recognition of Canada’s doctors on our virtual Thank You Wall throughout May. 

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 94,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

About Dr.Bill

Dr.Bill, part of the RBCx portfolio of companies, is a secure medical billing platform designed to simplify the nuanced medical billing process. It helps to mitigate stressful realities of administrative burden and ensure billing is done accurately and efficiently so medical professionals can spend more time on their important work with patients and get paid in a timely manner. Dr.Bill is currently available in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Visit dr-bill.ca to learn more.

About RBCx

RBCx powers bold ideas, founders, and technology companies. We know building great businesses takes more than just finance, which is why our four pillars – Banking, Capital, Platform, and Ventures – combine to make us the go-to backer of Canadian innovation. We use our deep expertise to support businesses of all sizes and stages, and leverage RBC’s extensive experience, networks, and capital to solve tomorrow’s big problems.

For further information: Stephanie Yeoh, Santis Health (for Dr.Bill), stephanie.yeoh@santishealth.ca