If every Quebecer can't have a family doctor, what comes next?
CBC
Four years ago, the Coalition Avenir Québec promised everyone a family doctor.
To reach that goal, the government went on the offensive, becoming embroiled in an often-acrimonious debate with doctors aimed at forcing them to take on more patients.
Less than a week into the CAQ's re-election campaign, the party ditched that 2018 election promise, admitting it's unachievable.
"Finally!" said Dr. Ariane Murray, a family doctor and head of Montreal's regional department of general medicine. "Not everyone needs a family doctor. They need access to care when they need it."
It's a sentiment the CAQ apparently shares. If re-elected, it has promised to launch a new digital platform to help patients make appointments with the appropriate health professional when they need care.
The idea that family doctors should be the gatekeepers of primary health care is outdated, Murray agrees. It is inefficient and bogs down the system, she said.
Unless a patient has a chronic medical condition that requires regular check-ups and tests, Murray said, most people would be better served by a physiotherapist, psychologist, nurse or even a pharmacist, depending on their needs.
But for this system to work, there has to be enough health-care professionals to meet the demand, and their services need to be covered by public health insurance.
"Many patients come to see us and we tell them, 'You know, that should be addressed by a psychologist.' And they say, 'You know what? You're free, and a psychologist is not. I don't have insurance,'" said Murray, who works at Verdun Hospital's family clinic.
Murray hopes free, easy access to other health professionals could liberate family doctors to see patients who require a doctor's care.
According to official estimates, at least 834,000 Quebecers are now on a waiting list for a family doctor. That wait is particularly pronounced in the Montreal area, where a growing number of general practitioners are nearing retirement age.
To improve access to medical care, both Québec Solidaire and the Parti Québécois say they would invest more in CLSCs.
The Conservative Party of Quebec would increase the number of medical school admissions to Quebec universities and allow doctors to work in both the public and private system, while encouraging Quebecers to buy supplemental insurance for treatment in private clinics.
The Liberals have once again vowed every Quebecer will have a family doctor. Over the next five years, they would add 1,000 places in Quebec's faculties of medicine. They say they would also better distribute doctors geographically.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
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