Primary care is an essential component of healthcare for the population. In a region with a severe shortage of physicians, the risk of not being able to access appropriate care in a timely manner can lead to severe health problems, particularly among vulnerable individuals.
Our provincial healthcare system promises universal and free access, but the distribution of general practitioners makes access to that healthcare unequal. In 1975, the Quebec government introduced incentives that aimed to influence general practitioners on their choice of where to practice.
Have these measures had the expected outcome?
In the CIRANO study "Impact des mesures incitatives et coercitives sur le lieu de pratique des nouveaux médecins de famille", Bernard Fortin (Université Laval, CIRANO), Justin Ndoutoumou, Josette Gbeto and Maude Laberge (Université Laval, CIRANO) study the effects of three measures aimed at influencing the choice of region of practice among new family doctors in Quebec between 1975 and 2021.
On May 20, Bernard Fortin and Josette Gbeto will present the results of this study and show how the measures introduced, which tried to draw family doctors away from Montreal toward remote areas, appear to have achieved their desired outcome.
