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Canada Post Doctor's Note Policy Shows 'Lack Of Awareness': CMA

Doctors Call Out Canada Post For 'Lack Of Awareness'
CP

Canada’s doctors do not want anything to do with Canada Post’s policy requiring disabled residents to get a note in order to keep their home mail delivery.

The Canadian Medical Association released a statement on Thursday saying they were taken aback by the crown corporation’s inability to consider physicians’ existing workload and patient confidentiality.

“This demonstrates a complete lack of awareness of the challenges facing health care professionals and the patients seeking access to care,” said CMA President Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti.

“Physicians are already burdened with administrative process that comes at the expense of face time with patients,” he explained, adding: “it appears little consideration has been given to the confidentiality and privacy of patient information,”

The statement from the CMA, a national organization which represents over 80,000 physicians, is the latest critical response to Canada Post’s new policy related to its decision to end door-to-door deliveries.

On Wednesday, Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton said residents will have to obtain a doctor’s note to exempt certain addresses from having home mail deliveries cut off. He also acknowledged requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

“What we heard loud and clear from them was that especially when it comes to the type of service we deliver, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution,” Hamilton told CBC News.

Last year, Canada Post unveiled its plan to phase out home mail delivery within five years as a means of cutting soaring operational costs amid a trend of decreasing mail volumes.

Homeowners will be required to collect mail from community mailboxes starting as early as this fall.

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