More Quebec hospitals to offer virtual at-home care

In the coming months, Quebec will deploy virtual home care services in five more hospitals, as part of a measure which aims to allow patients to continue their treatment at home while remaining under the supervision of a medical team.

The Quebec minister responsible for seniors, Sonia Bélanger, announced Tuesday the hospitals taking part are Pierre-Boucher Hospital in Longueuil, Hôtel-Dieu in Lévis, the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), the Anna-Laberge Hospital in Châteauguay and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal.

They will be added to the eight establishments in the greater Montreal and Quebec City region which were announced to participate in the program last year.

Patient advocate Paul Brunet calls it a “good idea.”

“I think that the more we keep people at home, treat them at home, the more we reduce the number of patients having to be admitted at hospital is certainly a good idea,” said Brunet, chair of the Quebec Council for the Protection of Patients.

According to officials, medical staff can then monitor patient progress remotely through connected devices.

Typically, the patient is given an iPad linked wirelessly to sensors measuring blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar or other indicators.

“If you can use a phone you can most likely use the iPad that we provide,” Dr. Amar Bhindi, the medical coordinator of the virtual care project at the Lakeshore Hospital, told CityNews.

Brunet says he’s hoping that adequate support systems will be in place to assist older individuals in navigating the system effectively.

“We know that between 25 and 30 per cent of elders have no ability whatsoever with the internet. So, they will have to be accompanied in a very close way so that they understand and are being able to work with the system, the watch, and the alarms,” said Brunet.

The aim is to reduce the length of hospital stays, which makes it possible to avoid medical complications long-term.

Four hospitals are currently offering the service, while the other four will do so by the end of the year.

It’s currently offered at the Lakeshore Hospital in Pointe-Claire, the Jewish General Hospital  in Montreal, Laval’s Cité-de-la-Santé and the Charles-Le Moyne Hospital in Longueuil.

The hospitals who will join by the end of this year include Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal, Sainte-Agathe Hospital, Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus in Quebec City and Hôpital Pierre-Le Gardeur in Terrebonne.

Home care is voluntary and only offered to patients whose condition allows for it, in the opinion of medical teams, and who have the necessary support at home.

“Patients prefer being in their own home to recover quicker, they mobilize better and they are less at risk of infection,” said Dr. Bhindi.

“We’re finding that patients really benefit from a transitionary period to get them home. So, patients who are medically stable who just need a little more support from the nurses or physicians and this program is intended for them.”

During the 2022 electoral campaign, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) pledged to initiate home care programs throughout Quebec by 2026.