Medical deserts: the Quebec method to avoid white areas

Despite its isolation, 600 km from Montreal in Quebec, the small town of Amos has become an essential destination on the map of general practitioners. After forty years of ineffective financial incentives, the establishment of young doctors is based on the needs of the population. This is how Geneviève Landes ended up in this remote area for two years, at the end of her internship.

“I lived in Montreal, I had a Mini Cooper, I spent a lot of hours in hospitals because I was in surgery, so it was 90 – 100 hours a week. In the evening, when I finished, I went to have a drink in the bars around”, she recalls. If they do not respect the rules of installation, the young doctors are sanctioned. The authorities cut their revenues by 30%. Despite all these constraints, this is not necessarily what Quebec doctors retain from their installation. “All actions are enhanced. There is a surcharge”, explains Geneviève Landes.