The CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (CCOMTL) estimates there are over 115,000 people without a family doctor who are not receiving preventive and medical services they could otherwise benefit from. This situation leads to inequities in health care. To address this issue, coordinators of family medicine groups have set up a nursing clinic focused on prevention, screening and short-term follow-up for patients without a family doctor.
At this clinic, nurse clinicians conduct a health assessment of people without diagnosed chronic conditions who are on the Québec Family Doctor Finder (GAMF) waiting list. The nurses can then, under a collective prescription, order preventive tests based on the person’s age and risk factors (screening for diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, osteoporosis, colon cancer, cervical cancer and breast cancer). Screening tests are performed by a licensed practical nurse. The nurse clinician then receives the test results, discloses them to the patient and, in the event of positive results, refers the patient to one of the clinic’s nurse practitioners specialized in primary care (IPSPL) so that the identified condition may be stabilized. These nurse practitioners will also perform a comprehensive health assessment for patients on the GAMF waiting list who have known chronic diseases and conduct a short-term follow-up with them. This innovative CCOMTL clinic improves services offered to those without a family doctor.
Project submitted by Marie-Christine Gras, FMG Program Manager
Other contributors to the project: Irina Blumer, FMG, U-FMG and Super Clinic Coordinator; Marouane Nassim, Program Planning and Research Officer; Camille Labrie, Nurse Clinician, Assistant to the Immediate Supervisor; Anaymone Codio, Nurse Clinician, Assistant to the Immediate Supervisor; Diana Dima, Head of the Nursing Specialist Workforce; Johanne Grondin, Assistant to the Director of Nursing-Front Line Professional Practice, ID-ASD and SNP; Michel Godin, Nadia Doiron, Susan Buddo, Emmanuelle Catanese, Nurse Practitioners specialized in front-line care; Keryn Chemtob, Sebastien Alexander, Courtney Wilkinson-Maitland, Nurse Clinicians; Bernard Berroya, Angélique Umutési, Licensed Practical Nurses; Wafaa Ibnoulhaddad, Sabrina Marie Noël, Elaine Blais, Mianda Kanyinda Kinkela, Administrative Officers.
