First-line access desk: 1 in 4 calls resolved without an appointment

More than a quarter of calls to the new front-line access counter (GAP) are resolved without an appointment with a healthcare professional. The result: Cases referred to a family doctor are more relevant, says FMOQ.

A new entry point for orphan patients, GAP is being implemented gradually and sometimes faces some difficulties. But the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) applauds this “triage” done before patients arrive at the clinic, which Minister Christian Dubé has presented as a key element of his plan to rebuild the health system.

Data provided Log About 28% of claims are settled by the Ministry of Health without referral to health professionals.

The callers “received advice on how to take care of themselves at home,” the ministry said.

In fact, only half of the 201,529 requests processed since the GAP went into effect on June 1 required a visit to a doctor.

Between 4% and 6% of calls were referred to a pharmacist, with other healthcare professionals (such as super nurses) handling the remaining approximately 15% of requests.

The president of FMOQ explains that the new system will not lead to a decrease in office contacts.

“But it’s more relevant because, if we send it to the doctor, that means there’s no one else who can correct it. There’s still optimization to be done, but you have to start somewhere,” says Dee.^R Marc-Andre Amiott.

“We’re releasing something really interesting,” he says.

To achieve this, its members reorganized their visiting hours and relied on a multidisciplinary approach, where patients were sometimes seen by another health professional.

“They won’t be undertreated,” he assured us, acknowledging that a shortage of general practitioners would force the network to reorganize.

D’s excitement^R Amyot disagreed with the fears he expressed last year. It should be noted that Prime Minister Francois Legault has threatened to impose financial penalties on doctors who do not follow up with enough patients.

“We were afraid at the time about the malicious and harmful use of this data,” the FMOQ president said of the time slots doctors had to make available to create the GAP.

In the office of Minister Christian Dubé, we are optimistic that we won’t succeed at a time when emergencies are overflowing in Quebec.

“The Frontline Access Counter is one of the solutions that helps us reduce emergency room congestion. We are happy to see that it is growing, but we need to continue to communicate it to the entire population,” its press officer wrote.

Requests have been processed

• September 1-30: 51,869
• October 1-15: 46,308

Cases referred to