2023-12-30 05:00:00
Nearly one out of three Quebecers who have been hanging around for more than a year for a consultation with a medical specialist no longer needs an appointment, shows the purge of the waiting list carried out by the government.
The actual number of patients waiting to see a medical specialist is ultimately much lower than the official data from the waiting list of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS).
Since last fall, the MSSS has been purging the lists for the 26 medical specialties covered by the Service Request Dispatch Center (CRDS). The goal is to get a true portrait of appointment requests from medical specialists in all regions.
So far, nearly 30% of the 221,000 Quebecers who have been waiting for at least a year have closed their file because they no longer need an appointment. Nearly 100,000 other requests are still awaiting a response, indicates the MSSS.
“This figure might change over time as the process continues,” writes the MSSS communications department by email.
“Cleaning to do”
The reasons given can be multiple (problem solved, duplicate on the waiting list, care received from another specialist or privately, etc.).
“In a context of shortage of human resources within the health network and difficulties in access to care, the current system requires significant and rapid improvements”, writes by email the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec.
On the side of allergists, we also see that there is “a lot” of cleaning to do in the waiting list.
“There are more patients on the list than there should be,” reacts Dr. Rémi Gagnon, president of the Association of Allergists and Immunologists of Quebec. People don’t even know why they are coming anymore, but they accepted the appointment anyway.
“Every day, we see it,” he said. Very often, they went back to eating the thing they were referred for.”
Furthermore, he deplores the fact that patients are sent to an allergist even before having undergone basic treatment (as for allergic rhinitis).
Like a scam?
Patients targeted by the MSSS process receive up to three calls or text messages from the Axelle computer system, which asks them to confirm that they are still waiting for an appointment.
The security of such a system had been called into question this winter, when several Quebecers found that the request by text message suggested an attempted computer scam.
According to the MSSS, the purification exercise should be completed by the fall.
For its part, the FMSQ says it is working to improve algorithms and referencing to optimize appointment requests. The MSSS intends to carry out other exercises to purge the waiting lists in the future.
How does CRDS work?
The family doctor must request a consultation 26 medical specialties are part of the CRDS Requests are ranked in order of priority Delays can vary from three days to 12 months More than 315,000 Quebecers have been waiting for more than a year
Source: MSSS
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