Spokesperson for the Québec Medical Association mission:
Dr. Jean-François Lajoie
President
For several years now, the Québec Medical Association (QMA) has been interested in the emergence of chronic diseases and the challenge this poses for the Québec health care system in general and for the medical profession in particular.
At present, about half the people in North America suffer from at least one chronic disease, one quarter have two or more chronic diseases – and the number rises to two out of three people in the over-65 age group.
There is a growing consensus that the health care system must adapt to meet the needs of chronic diseases. Although it is very efficient at handling acute or occasional problems, it must evolve to better respond to chronic health care needs.
The mission of the Québec Medical Association is to bring together the members of Québec’s medical community in a context that promotes reflection and action in order to improve the conditions for practising medicine and the health of Québec’s population. With this in mind, the QMA has planned a series of activities for 2011 that are centred around the theme of the need to adapt the health care system in order to meet the challenge represented by chronic disease prevention and the response to the health care needs of people afflicted by chronic diseases.
The first activity took place on January 21, 2011: Will chronic diseases get the best of my medical practice? Symposium on medical organization and computer solutions. This activity brought together about 100 physicians, and health care and medical industry professionals.
The QMA decided to collaborate with Bell to sponsor a fact-finding and observation mission to British Columbia in order to learn more about the model developed by the General Practice Service Committee (GPSC). On March 24 and 25, 2011, a QMA delegation made up of family physicians, specialists, a family medicine resident and other health professionals, will be able to discuss the measures set up in British Columbia to encourage family physicians to manage patients with chronic diseases.
The general objectives of the fact-finding and observation mission are to:
Analyse the strategies designed to increase and support the involvement of patients in developing their treatment plan and monitoring their health status.
At the QMA’s annual convention on April 15 and 16, 2011, the report for this mission will take up a large part of the agenda. With the theme of Transform medical practice… or transform the system?, the mission participants will have a chance to share their observations, analyses and recommendations with convention delegates in order to answer this question.
Printer-friendly version of this mission (In French only)