Gatineau couple discharged from Ottawa family doctor 'shocked,' seeking answers

A family from Gatineau, Que., is reeling after being told they will be discharged from their family doctor in Ottawa for a reason they are struggling to agree with — because they have Quebec health cards. 

Last month Samira Drapeau, Drew Williams and their five-year-old son received separate letters from the Bruyère Family Medicine Centre in Ottawa where the family have been patients for eight years.

Many people in the National Capital Region live on one side of the Ottawa River but work on the other. It's also not uncommon for people on the Quebec side to receive health services in Ottawa. 

The letter stated that as of July 31, they would be discharged from the clinic and will no longer have access to services. 

It went on to say that the family medicine centre will no longer be accepting out-of-province patients.

The letter explained that providing care to patients outside Ontario has become difficult due to what it calls system-wide challenges including "obtaining referrals and results, inability to provide virtual care, lack of comprehensive and timely communication across provincial jurisdiction and reduced access to supports."

"I was shocked obviously. Really disheartened," said Drapeau. "We really want to know how this happened because so far, we haven't gotten a clear answer as to how this decision [was] made and I think that we have a right to know what that process was."

In a statement, the clinic said doctors at both Bruyère and Primrose Family Medicine Clinics are reviewing and making individual practice discharge decisions.

It did not answer questions about how many patients would be affected or how this decision came about, except to reiterate the difficulties it sees in serving patients who live outside Ontario.

But the couple said their experience at the clinic has been good and they have never had an issue.

"We've been able to book appointments, get X-rays, tests, all that sort of thing in Ontario and Quebec," said Williams. "There hasn't been any significant delay or even minor delay in care."

The family originally signed up with the clinic when they lived in Ottawa.

When they moved across the provincial border to Gatineau, they said they were told it wouldn't be a problem to stay with the clinic, which makes Drapeau even more frustrated with their current situation.  

"Everyone has the right to access to health care and that access to health care in this region is really shameful to be honest," said Drapeau. "We need to figure out how to make this work for the region."

College of physicians rules 

The Ontario Ministry of Health said in a statement that doctors can determine how they run their practices, as long as they follow the regulations, standards and policies of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). 

The CPSO policy states doctors can end the relationship with a patient for a number of reasons, including to reduce the size of the practice, but that it must do so in a way that is fair, transparent and compassionate, and consider each case independently. 

It said the issue of interprovincial care is complicated and there are several considerations including virtual care.

The spokesperson explained that to perform virtual care, a physician would have to comply with the licensing requirements of the jurisdiction where the patient is located. 

The letter the couple received outlined measures Bruyère is providing to help with patient transition, such as the supply of prescriptions and followup on outstanding test results. 

Drapeau and Williams are now looking at escalating the issue. They have an upcoming meeting with the director of the clinic, and have contacted the board and CPSO.