Sophie Bernier (first reporter)

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

This is what is currently happening in our region; a major invisible project has just begun at the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center of Mauricie and Center-du-Québec (CIUSSS MCQ). This project will fundamentally change the financing of our healthcare system so that, in the future, money will follow the patient. Amélie, this project, which has just started in our region, is about developing patient-focused funding (activity-based funding).

Amélie Desmarais (second reporter)

Yes, training was provided yesterday, and in fact, it shows that currently, institutions are funded through historical global envelopes that make it difficult to determine the precise costs associated with a patient's visit. This means, for example, that the CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-centre-du-Québec (one of 31 establishments in Québec) receives an amount of money and we do not really have a clear idea of where that money goes, how it is spent, how much goes to each patient. So, what we would like to know is the cost and result of all the care and services provided, from the time a patient enters a hospital or another health care establishment. To achieve that, well, we need software product that allows a dozen existing software programs used in the healthcare network to communicate together. It is this software implementation that has just started in our region and the Australian company, who won a $44 million tender last year, in charge of it is PowerHealth Solutions.

The current objective is to train people to implement this software and establish a way to communicate with, and code information in this system. All that will take about two months, so in late September we should have finished. At that time, the staff of the entire establishment will need to use this new system.

We can now listen to the spokesperson who deals with the implementation here at CIUSSS MCQ (de la Mauricie-et-du-centre-du-Québec), PHILIPPE LOTTIN, Director of Specialized Surgical and Oncology Services, CIUSSS MCQ:

“We are already documenting everything we do via our systems, we already describe the files and the activity we perform. This software is above all others, some describe it like an octopus that comes to connect to all our systems. It tells them: ‘I will get the clinical data and the financial files to put them together and calculate a trajectory of care’. In Québec, we need to be able to compare establishments to one another. To make this happen, the Ministry has put in place a new Chart of Accounts to input expenses. Guidelines already exist to describe our activities. They will simply be adjusted so we all describe them the same way, because sometimes, we understand them differently. There is a lot of work left ahead of us to standardize clinical, financial and activity data."

Sophie Bernier (first reporter)

And when is it expected to be in place?

Amélie Desmarais (second reporter)

It will take another two years because the implementation of this system is necessary in all Québec’s regions. Then, Québec will perform a cost analysis and decide what procedure is justified or not for a given patient and how much the total cost will be. All this will allow to reduce expenses and ensure better results.

Sophie Bernier (first reporter)

More details at 6 pm tonight.