Prime Minister François Legault has in hand the names of family doctors who do not work enough to his liking. His government is the first to have obtained this data from the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), he said on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister wants to give these names to the leaders of the regional health authorities to meet with them, but he says he does not know if it is legal or not.
“There is a minority of family physicians who do not do a good job,” said Mr. Legault in question period Tuesday in response to a question from PQ leader Joël Arseneau.
“Currently it is not clear, legally, that we can give these names to the CEOs of CISSS (Integrated Health and Social Services Centers) and CIUSSS (Integrated University Health and Social Services Centers ) to meet with family physicians. “
The government would thus try to bypass the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) to negotiate directly with its members.
Remember that the Caquista government is preparing a clash with family doctors, whom it accuses of not taking care of enough patients.
In 2018, the Coalition d’avenir Québec (CAQ) made a commitment to provide a family doctor to all Quebecers before the end of the mandate. There were then 400,000 patients on the waiting list. There are currently double the number, over 800,000, making the pledge difficult, if not impossible, to keep by October 2022.
“We do not think that it is by negotiating with the union that we will get there, it was tried by the former government, it did not work,” commented Mr. Legault.
He recalled that his Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, was going to table a bill soon, if the doctors did not comply quickly. The government also wants to change the way doctors are paid.
This is not the first time that the Prime Minister has brandished the threat of a law if the doctors do not submit to Quebec’s ultimatum.
The former Liberal Minister of Health, Gaétan Barrette, adopted Bill 20 in 2015, which provided for financial penalties to be imposed on doctors who did not meet the government’s productivity targets. Penalties were never implemented, but this law has stuck in the throats of doctors.
The FMOQ defends itself by arguing in particular that there is a shortage of approximately 1,000 family physicians in Quebec, that we do not train enough general practitioners, that they are required to work in CHSLDs and hospitals, which reduces the number of ‘as much their availability in practice, not to mention that retirements are increasing. She adds that it is wrong to suggest that the productivity rate of physicians is low, when on average they work about 45 hours per week.
Family physicians take between 1,000 and 2,000 patients under their wing. However, having your name on a doctor’s patient list does not automatically guarantee access to care or an appointment at the desired time.