Public delays and private costs for certain non-urgent surgical procedures sometimes push Quebecers to turn to clinics abroad with sometimes uncertain guarantees in terms of control and quality.
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Mélanie Jutras lost her life in unclear circumstances more than a year ago after undergoing bariatric surgery in Tunisia. Today, the family is still struggling to access the medical file and therefore the circumstances of the death.
“It’s a problem and there are more and more people who will turn to medical tourism, as unfortunately happened here,” lamented Dr. Gaétan Barrette, radiologist and former Minister of Health.
In Quebec, there can be between two and three years of waiting for this type of surgery in public establishments, and the costs in private clinics can sometimes be very significant.
“This is unfortunately the situation, because bariatric surgery is not the priority for surgical waiting lists, because it is one option among other options for treating people who have related problems. to very significant obesity,” he explained in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
Should we be wary of medical tourism?
“There is a risk, by definition, and the risk is inherent to the fact that we are in what we call medical tourism. Medical tourism means one thing: we are going to a place that is not Canada, not Quebec, in an environment where we do not necessarily have all the guarantees in terms of control and quality,” continued Mr. Barrette.
According to him, not all clinics abroad are risky, but it is everyone’s responsibility to find out about the contract clauses and the standards of the country.
“Here, in Quebec, there is a College of Physicians, standards of practice and Health Canada which govern and above all, there are rules which mean that what we have described cannot happen,” he said. He specifies. Anyone in Quebec who has an operation, sees their doctor, has the right to access their file.”
Complications not covered
When a Quebecer goes abroad to undergo a surgical procedure, even minor, the medical service is punctual and complications are not always taken care of, according to the doctor.
“The state has very, very few statistics in this regard because it is not listed and most of the time these are private companies both in Canada and abroad,” detailed Mr. Barrette.
Thus, it is common for patients from medical tourism to return to be treated in Quebec for complications, since certain companies guarantee neither coverage nor reimbursement of the costs that follow, added Mr. Barrette.