Minister would force efficiency on doctors
QUEBEC Health Minister Gaétan Barrette tabled new legislation on the last day of the fall parliamentary session, earning him a fresh wave of criticism from doctor federations.
Bill 130, Barrette’s latest attempt at making the health-care system more efficient, and his third major piece of legislation, would give hospital administrators new tools to force doctors to perform basic hospital duties or risk facing a disciplinary committee.
Barrette said too often, operating rooms are unused, reports unwritten and simple X-rays unread, because doctors organize their own schedules and refuse to travel short distances or perform certain duties deemed to be beneath them.
“We’re putting a dent in (doctors’) professional autonomy, it’s true, but it’s to the benefit of patients,” Barrette said.
“This is not a bill which sanctions doctors,” he added. “It’s not a bill which forces doctors to work nights or weekends, it’s not that at all, it’s a bill that looks at the daily organization and distribution of care, and puts an end to doctors being completely free to do whatever they want.”
Without naming a specific hospital, the minister said he knew of one with a backlog of 9,000 X-rays.
“It’s unacceptable,” he said. “It’s not normal that doctors can say ‘I’m not going to read simple X-rays because I think it’s boring ... I only want to read ultrasounds, scans and magnetic resonance imaging.’ ”
In 2015, Law 10 abolished the boards of individual health institutions and merged them into 28 regional boards.
Later that year, Law 20 called on doctors to take on more patients or risk having their pay docked by up to 30 per cent.
The latter part of the law will only start to apply in 2017 if doctors haven’t met set objectives.
While laws 10 and 20 tackled structure and doctor productivity, Barrette said Bill 130 is the missing link that will improve day-today operations in hospitals.
But PQ health critic Diane Lamarre quickly slammed the bill Friday as proof the other laws are failing.
“This kind of coercion may send physicians to the private sector,” she said.
“Making doctors look like slackers, spoiled children and irresponsible people is unacceptable,” Diane Francoeur, president of Quebec’s federation of medical specialists, said in a statement.
Louis Godin, who represents family doctors in the province, said article six of the bill gives the minister “outrageous” new powers.
“The minister would be omnipotent,” Godin said, adding he’ll oppose Bill 130 during parliamentary hearings this winter.