Cut it out: CFPC wants DTC forms off family docs' books for good

The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is highlighting one severe pain point of family doctors’ administrative burden—the Canada Revenue Agency’s Disability Tax Credit (DTC) form.To apply for the federal Disability Tax Credit (DTC)—aimed at helping people with disabilities and their caregivers by reducing their income tax—Canadians need a medical doctor or nurse practitioner to certify the effects of the impairment (apart from certain impairments which can be certified by other healthcare specialists, such as an optometrist for vision issues). The CFPC says up to 400,000 hours of family physician time is taken up with this single form on an annual basis. The college has previously highlighted this onerous 16-page form as an ideal piece of admin to cut from doctors’ already overflowing list of responsibilities. The college emphasized the current process is a burden on patients, who must pay out of pocket for the service. Further, the college pointed to the Canadian Revenue Agency’s Disability Advisory Committee’s recommendations for evidence that the current process is cumbersome and confusing. A 2023 report from that committee showed many thousands of Canadians, both prospective beneficiaries and practitioners, have called in recent years with a variety of questions about the DTC. In that report, the committee said it supports the idea of expanding the types of professionals who can work on these forms, such as social workers—and noted that practitioners need training on how to properly perform this task in the first place. Plus, it noted, there is no clarity regarding how much a doctor can charge for the service. As for the college, it recommends allowing applicants the DTC be able to self-attest to their disabilities, with auditing functions in place.In 2023, the college released the results of its federal forms survey, which found 96% of respondents wanted the government to make changes to its forms process. Suggesting one such change, the college is calling on the feds to revise the section of the Income Tax Act that pertains to the DTC, “to relieve medical practitioners of this obligation.”

Cut it out: CFPC wants DTC forms off family docs' books for good

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