(Quebec) The College of Physicians fears that Minister Christian Dubé’s sweeping reform will “escape” physicians from decision-making roles in the health network. A grievance that “tickles” the Minister of Health who defended himself on Tuesday from wanting to reduce their “voice”.
The place of physicians in health reform will be at the heart of the debates on Tuesday, as consultations resume on Bill 15, which aims to make the health and social services network more efficient. The College of Physicians, the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec (FMSQ) and the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) will parade in front of parliamentarians.
The Press reported on Monday that the College of Physicians believes that the Dubé reform focuses too much on what happens inside the hospital and not enough outside, such as in family medicine groups (GMF) or health clinics. health care.
The College is also concerned that the voice of physicians is being “diluted” from decision-making roles.
“Reading the bill, we see that physicians are being evacuated from decision-making roles affecting the trajectory of care. We are impoverished of their knowledge, of their skills. We risk demobilizing them”, deplored in front of the parliamentarians its president, the Dr Mauril Gaudreault.
“It tickles me a little when you tell me that you have the impression that we are taking away the voice of doctors,” retorted Minister Christian Dubé. “Is it because we give voice to other professionals? Because it seems to me that we can keep the same voice of the doctors while giving the voice [à d’autres professionnels] “, continued the minister.
The College reiterated that it supports a sharing of responsibilities between all the professionals in the network, but that, in its view, the bill does not place enough emphasis on clinical and administrative co-management. In this regard, Minister Dubé reaffirmed that co-management “exists” in the network and has already proven itself. “There are a lot of things that don’t need to be in the bill,” he said.
The place of doctors
One of the College’s concerns is that the role of the councils of physicians, dentists and pharmacists (CPDP) in the organization of care will be diminished in the current version of the bill.
The professional order recommends to Minister Dubé not to modify the responsibilities of the CPDPs so that the “voice of doctors is still heard” within these councils. In a parliamentary committee, Minister Dubé did not specifically comment on this request. In the press scrum, he argued that he was not going to “change for the sake of changing” his bill.
“Does that mean that just the CPDPs don’t want to change [et que] everyone else has to change? asked the minister before going to committee. ” I will change [mon projet de loi] if I see that it improves the relationship with the patient, ”he insisted.
Currently, CPDPs report to the CEO of a healthcare facility, giving him a direct link to senior management. With the reform, these councils would report to the medical director and the institution’s interdisciplinary council – a new governance structure.