Quebec is expanding its virtual home care program to more hospitals across the province.
The program allows people who have been hospitalized to go home sooner while still receiving care.
Experts say it’s a step in the right direction, but warn that it’s not a one-stop solution.
The program was pioneered by the Jewish General Hospital at the height of the pandemic.
Its director, Erin Cook, says that since the implementation in 2022, it has allowed the hospital to monitor almost 1,000 patients recovering at home from hip and knee surgeries or robotic hysterectomies, for example, with great success.
“One hundred per cent of our patients tell us that they prefer hospital at home than in-person care. They rate their overall satisfaction at 93 per cent,” Cooke said.
Now the same model is available in five new hospitals across the province:
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- Pierre-Boucher hospital
- Anna-Laberge hospital
- Hôtel-dieu de Lévis
- McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
- University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) (Montreal)
Quebec’s minister responsible for seniors says she believes it will help free up hospital beds and provide services to more patients.
“They remain a client of the hospital where all their services remain intact,” Sonia Bélanger said.
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Patients’ rights advocate Paul Brunet says the program is good as long as patients feel safe using the technology and are well followed.
“You will have more beds available because patients will be sent home faster but we have a very sad experience of patients being sent home too fast. Sometimes they come back in an ambulance,” Brunet said.
Brunet also believes at-home care programs, such as the Soins intensifs à domicile (SIAD), spearheaded by the Verdun CLSC, remain the better option.
Dr. Eveline Gaillardetz, one of 15 doctors in the program, says virtual care wards are a step in the right direction but not the only solution.
She hopes patients who participate will be able to have continued access to care.
“They must maintain strong medical oversight based in a CLSC so we can provide followups. These patients often have chronic diseases,” Gaillardetz said.
The province plans to add more virtual wards in another four hospitals across Quebec by the end of the year.
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