2023-07-06 04:00:00
A patient at a public hospital in Montreal complains that she had to pay $200 for an ultrasound after her medical file was transferred to a private clinic without her consent.
• Read also: No less than 150 doctors went from public to private last year
“Our system is suffering and we are the ones paying the bill,” says Sanaa B. Khalil.
The 47-year-old woman has been followed at the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) for several years for her thyroid gland. Last fall, her name was placed on the waiting list for an ultrasound.
$200 exam
During a follow-up call to the CHUM last January, the woman learned that her file had been transferred to the private clinic Radiologie Varad, where radiologists from the hospital work.
At this clinic, the secretary told Ms. Khalil that she had to pay $200 for the exam.
“I was told: ‘If you don’t want to make the appointment, we’ll have to return the file to the hospital and it might take too long,'” says Ms. Khalil. I was afraid of an excessively long waiting list, I decided to make the appointment and go.
At the time, the patient admits to having been surprised by this response.
“As if someone says to me: ‘Too bad for you. We don’t know when we’ll call you back.” I no longer thought about the money,” she admits.
“It’s frustrating, though. We have our health insurance card, I have always been treated by the hospital. Why, overnight, do I have to pay $200? I don’t know the reason,” she said.
On February 15, she paid $200 for the private exam. During the follow-up examination, her doctor had no further explanations to provide.
“I’m sure there are many others like me who don’t have a voice,” the woman adds.
Normally, radiology examinations requested by the public network are covered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) in the private sector. During a call to the Varad clinic, however, the secretary answered the Journal that free depends on the doctor.
Private or public doctor?
“If the radiologist who is present that day is disaffiliated from the RAMQ, it will be private”, we were told.
She added that a patient who does not want to pay must mention this when making an appointment.
Asked about this later, the management of the Varad clinic assured that this case is a simple “human error” and that there has been no other similar case.
“This patient did not have to pay,” says Lina Legault, director of operations at Varad, who also agreed to reimburse Ms. Khalil after the call from the Journal.
At the CHUM, management responds that an agreement has been reached with the Varad clinic to perform examinations, but also ensures that patients do not have to pay a penny. People are also free to accept the appointment or not.
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