Quebec's Digital Health Upgrade: Pilot Project Starts

0:00Quebec's health system is rolling out a big digital upgrade with a pilot project for electronic medical records starting May 9th. Two regions, the C.I.U.S.S.Dunor, Delay, the Montréal, and more C-Center Duke Quebec, will cut non-urgent services by 75% right away. Then down to 50% through early June, so staff can get up to speed. Staff have been training for weeks, but docs like Mark Rodger from the McGill University Health Center say the real learning hits once you're live in. The system. He's seen this before in Ontario back in 2019, with a just push routine appointments a month later, and leaned on nearby hospitals for. Back up. Urgent care and cancer treatments stay fully on track, with only minor tweaks if clinically safe. Montréal folks aren't thrilled about the slowdowns. One said you can't cut services period, another worried it'll pile on to the huge backlog we're already facing, and the third pointed out were, short staffed everywhere. Makes sense why they're pushing back.

1:00Meanwhile, Quebec now has 350 more practicing physicians than last year, but patient advocate Paul Brunette warns many are hitting. Private. Private doctor numbers jump nearly 60% since 2022, and some regions lost docs over recent laws. The government's challenge is pulling them into public care without more fights. As this pilot wraps by late May and scales up, it'll test if the tech pay off beats the short term pain, keeping eyes on smoother records for everyone, down the line. I'm Corey with the story. That's your Canada news today update. AI powered and always on.