Quebecers who have an annual follow-up with their family doctor in the coming weeks should expect their appointment to be postponed. Fifth wave requires, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) asks general practitioners to abandon non-emergency medical activities and free up time slots for “walk-in” accessible to the entire population.
“Anything that is routine and without immediate relevance is postponed”, explains the Dr Réal Barrette, Co-Chair of the COVID-19 Clinical Screening Committee and 1D line from the MSSS, in an interview with The duty. He cites as examples the follow-up of a patient with “stable diabetes” or “CNESST cases” (Commission for standards, equity, health and safety at work) which do not involve a return at work in a short horizon.
“A patient who has had low back pain for four months and who I see going, he will not be ready in three weeks [pour retourner au travail]. It does nothing to see him again in three weeks, explains the Dr Réal Barrette, a family doctor who owns five family medicine groups (GMF) and super-clinics (GMF-Réseau) in Montreal. I’m going to give him an appointment in six weeks. »
Anything routine and of no immediate relevance is postponed
Employees whose return to work is imminent will be seen, he assures. If the health situation requires it, family doctors could also “come to prioritize health care workers and essential workers” on sick leave, adds the Dr Barrette.
Fewer emergency patients
By freeing up consultation slots, family physicians can see more “walk-in” patients and help unclog hospital emergency rooms. Hospital centers also redirect patients deemed to be non-priority to clinics. And “it works”, according to the Dr Barrette.
“It helps a lot, confirms the Dr Gilbert Boucher, President of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec. There are far fewer patients currently coming to the emergency room for minor problems. »
Between 9,000 and 9,200 Quebecers went to the emergency room every day in December, according to the Dr Gilbert Boucher. “We are at 6500 or 6700,” he said. Access to the front line, that sure helped. But people are also afraid to come to the hospital [en raison de la COVID-19]. »
The Dr Barrette also observes a tendency “to consult less”. “People go out less, do less activity and hurt themselves less,” he adds. They also have access to their own family doctor more quickly. » Orphan patients also have access to walk-in clinics even if they are not followed by FMGs.
According to the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ), many patients request a teleconsultation rather than an in-office meeting, in order to avoid contracting COVID-19. Mental health problems lend themselves well to this formula, recalls the director of communications of the FMOQ, Jean-Pierre Dion, since the distress is great in the population. “Probably between 35 and 40% of front-line consultations currently have a connection with mental health,” he estimates.
More patients waiting for a family doctor
The offloading of front-line activities also has an effect on the management of new patients at the Family Doctor Access Window (GAMF). The MSSS says it prioritizes “patients with vulnerabilities, because these appointments are complex to organize and we do not wish to postpone them”.
Currently, the average waiting time for patients registered with the GAMF and deemed to be a priority (suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS or aged over 70 or under two years of age) is 462 days, according to the MSSS . It reaches 609 days for people deemed non-priority.
According to the MSSS, 945,260 Quebecers were on the GAMF waiting list as of December 31, 2021, an increase of 15,841 people compared to the previous month. This number stood at 630,722 in March 2020.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, announced in mid-November the deployment by spring 2022 of the Frontline access counter for the orphan population (GAP), which aims to offer services for people without a family doctor.