Health Minister Christian Dubé wants 8.5 million Quebecers to have access to a family doctor by 2026, a possible goal, but the central evaluation system must be improved, judges a family doctor from Shawinigan .
“I believe in it. The challenge we have, we know that the link heals, so we have to attach patients to a clinic or a GMF. The vision is good,” reacted the Dr Frédéric Picotte just after Minister Dubé’s press briefing, who presented the update of his health plan.
However, family doctors are already overloaded and have difficulty taking on new patients. “If we want to free up space, we will have to better assess who is coming in and work more as a team,” he explained in an interview with LCN on Thursday.
The solution for him is therefore to focus on the central evaluation system, also known as digital GAP, but which will need to be improved.
“We won’t make an appointment with our family doctor like before. We will evaluate to ensure that it is the right speaker,” underlined the Dr Picotte.
Coverage issues to take into account
The family doctor also believes in the importance of using all health professional profiles and offering reimbursement if care comes from these profiles and not from a general practitioner.
“The problem is the coverage issues. Not everyone has private insurance. Physio, psychologist, dentist, optometrist: often, we substitute ourselves because [les médecins de famille]we are covered,” he mentioned.
He is also on the same wavelength as the Minister of Health regarding investments in prevention.
“I think that the shift towards prevention is the only viable investment in our health system,” he said.
