Quebec agrees with physicians to strengthen the first line of health

The government has reached an agreement with its general practitioners to move forward with its plan to establish a front-line health access counter (GAP).

Quebec hopes to improve the health care system for hundreds of thousands of Quebecs who do not have a family doctor, as the plan is set to transform Minister Christian Dube’s health care system.

“I salute the Quebec General Practitioners Association (FMOQ) for coming up with new ideas and their openness to differentiate access to the first line. […] I firmly believe that together we can change things for the benefit of the people and our health systems, ”he said in a statement announcing the agreement. Dube commented.

The GAP application is pending, and queers waiting in the family physician access window will “gradually register with a Family Medical Group (GMF), with the most vulnerable patients being given priority,” the health ministry said. Health and Social Services, which aims to achieve this goal by March 2023.

Also, under the agreement, patients who have a family doctor can access it within a maximum of 36 to 72 hours, depending on the urgency of their problem. “In order to encourage this change in practice, physicians should allocate the rate of appointment seats for emergencies, in accordance with the best practices of modified access.”

For its part, FMOQ pointed out that it cannot solve all the problems of access to the health care system by its members themselves, in particular, according to them, the organization has about 1,000 general practitioners.

“It’s time to do things differently in Quebec, especially by sharing the collective responsibility of caring for other health professionals and investing heavily in our first tier. […] This agreement is clear to us that this is a good step in this direction, “said Dr. Mark Andre Amiot, President of FMOQ.