The rise of the private sector in the health sector is a concern for the Collège des médecins du Québec.
In a brief that will be presented on Wednesday during consultations on Bill 67 on the Professional Code, the College recommends that the government take a step back.
The College urges it to quickly address the weak link in the professional system by introducing into the Professional Code means enabling professional orders to ensure the monitoring and control of professional activities offered by companies, whatever the legal form they take, as well as the directors and managers who control them, otherwise the protection of the public risks being compromised.
A quote from Extract from the memorandum of the College of Physicians
Private clinics, private surgery centers or telemedicine, the offer has grown considerably in recent years, not to mention the health plan of Minister Dubé who wants to make more room for the private sector.
According to the College, the powers at its disposal are insufficient to ensure the protection of patients.
At most, the current provisions allow the orders to manage by regulation the composition of the shareholding of the owners of these companies, but they do not grant real powers to force the companies to respect the standards relating to the profession, it is written.
During its presentation to Minister Sonia LeBel, the College intends to point out that it has had to initiate legal proceedings in recent months to gain access to patient files contained in electronic medical records (EMRs), the property of medical clinics owned by business people.
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The president of the Collège des médecins du Québec, Dr. Mauril Gaudreault, is pleased that the skills of several health professionals other than doctors are being recognized.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Félix Duchesne
As part of a professional inspection, he also had to retain the services of a law firm to access patients’ clinical records held by a company offering telemedicine services.
As the president of the College, Dr. Mauril Gaudreault, reminds us, to ensure quality medicine, professional inspection visits must be carried out. […]but in premises administered by non-doctors, it is not possible.
The College team carries out hundreds of inspections each year, examining in particular record keeping, the quality of diagnoses and follow-ups, office maintenance and the sterilization of instruments.
In April, the Auditor General of Quebec finally convinced Minister Dubé to no longer have to resort to the courts to track money paid to the private sector.
“I have very serious concerns about my possible access to the facilities of private establishments, to their financial statements or to any document that I deem necessary to verify,” said Guylaine Leclerc.
Limits raised by the Charbonneau Commission
In its brief, the College recalls the limits of the Professional Code, which only allows compliance with professional standards to be imposed on its members.
As the Charbonneau Commission explicitly pointed out in its report (in 2015), the Quebec professional system does not provide for monitoring or control measures for professional services companies, it is written. This problem has only gotten worse, the College believes.
The Collège des médecins du Québec is the professional order that oversees the practice of the 26,000 physicians practicing in Quebec, all specialties combined. It provides monitoring activities, handles public complaints and supports physicians in maintaining their skills.
