Plant the SEED to Reduce Administrative Burden

Rebecca Lubitz, MD

Rebecca Lubitz has worked as a family doctor in Ontario since 2010.   Originally from California, she attended medical school at UC San Francisco earning both an MD and an MS focused on adult learning theory and risk communication, and moved to Canada in 2006.  Since then, she has run a medium sized family practice serving a varied demographic, including work in palliative care and teaching residents.  She was involved in homeless outreach for 10 years in downtown Kitchener, and earlier in her career, spent 5 years as a weekend hospitalist.  Dr. Lubitz developed an interest in reducing administrative burden when she began working as the HR manager in her current clinic.  In studying inefficiencies in staff and physician workflows, as well as seeking to understand how physician risk tolerances triangulate with both time spent on tasks as well as comfort with delegation, she developed various strategies to reduce physician time spent on administrative tasks.  Dr. Lubitz’ interest in optimizing workflows stems from both a desire to improve access to family physician in Ontario, and to help her colleagues enjoy their work and avoid burnout.   In the free time Dr Lubitz has carved out by re-arranging her own workflows and increasing delegation in her practice, she enjoys all things outdoors (hiking, kayaking, running, biking, swimming, triathlons, foraging), home-steading activities (sewing, fixing things, canning), running a community garden, and spending time with her husband and their four children.