An orthopedist paid by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) does not hesitate to solicit patients for his private clinic, a practice carried out by certain doctors who seem to find a very profitable way to practice their profession in a context where the waiting lists are endless in the public network.
In an interview with QUB Radio, the deputy of Rosemont for Quebec solidaire, Vincent Marissal, confided that he experienced this situation recently. “My orthopedist’s secretary offered me an operation at the beginning of December in a private clinic. The problem, the bill will be $35,000. A price that she describes as special, because I have to have both hips replaced, ”he mentioned at the microphone of Benoît Dutrizac.
At present, Mr. Marissal has to move around with a cane and his situation prevents him from living a normal life, but like so many others in his situation, he has now been patient for a year. If he refuses the operation in a private clinic at more than $30,000, he will still have to endure his pain for at least six more months, until his orthopedist returns to the public system.
“This is unacceptable. I have the luxury of waiting. I can move in my work. But a trucker who can no longer work, he will choose to pay. He has no choice,” said Mr. Marissal.
The temporary disaffiliation of doctors is not a new phenomenon. But this example raises an obvious ethical question according to the member for Rosemont. He wonders how many doctors take advantage of their situation to set up a bank of clients that they can then operate on privately.
“In the end, the government seems well in this situation, because it helps to reduce waiting lists,” said the MP for Rosemont. This could explain the silence of the government, according to Vincent Marissal. According to him, one can wonder if the consultation paid for by the RAMQ will only have served to inflate the list of clients of certain doctors. “Very lucrative customers.”
“I refuse to go private for a matter of principle. It’s a way to pass in front of everyone. I really believe in the public system,” he said, adding that when someone decides to go private, their name is no longer on the waiting list, much to the government’s delight.
For now, Mr. Marissal has no intention of filing a complaint with the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec. That said, he has the firm intention of asking questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé.
The College of Physicians and the Federation of Medical Specialists declined our interview request.
– With the collaboration of André-Sylvain Latour
Public network: a frustrating lack of resources, judge Véronique Godbout
The lack of resources in the public network encourages doctors to go to the private sector, says the president of the Quebec Orthopedic Association, Véronique Godbout.
In an interview with QUB radio, Ms. Godbout admitted that it is not normal for professionals to decide to temporarily disaffiliate to invite their public patients to follow them privately. She notes that this situation is increasingly common due to the lack of operational availability.
“The privatization is there, because we cannot operate enough to the public. A day when the hospital does not give sufficient resources to the orthopedist, he will organize himself privately. We want to operate publicly, but if the network is not able to make professionals work, the option is to go private, ”she said at the microphone of Benoît Dutrizac.
Asked how much an operation on both hips in the amount of $35,000 could cost in the public network, Ms. Godbout advises first of all that this sum does not go into the pockets of the orthopedist, but rather to the whole team.
“I can’t say how the surgeon will receive for a bilateral hip prosthesis, as I don’t do it in my individual practice. That said, the doctor will get a portion of the price that it costs the public health system.
Ms. Godbout agrees that we cannot ask Quebecers earning an average salary to borrow thousands of dollars to have surgery. “We have a Canadian public health system that is one of the best in the world. You have to be able to provide the service. What makes doctors frustrated right now is that we are not able to do our job properly because we don’t have the resources to do it.”
As possible solutions, she suggests increasing the efficiency of operating theaters and adding staff to keep patients on beds after their surgery.