Are Family Medicine Clinics Improving Access to Care through Organizational Changes Driven by Healthcare Reform?

PURPOSE:This observational descriptive study reports organizational changes after the last reform in 18 family medicine units (FMUs) affiliated with the University of Montreal in Québec. METHOD:Two self-administered surveys on access to care were administered to FMU directors between December 2016 and January 2017, and in August 2018. RESULTS:Between surveys, the number of registered patients increased substantially. All clinics recruited new patients, and most offered walk-in services (89%) and moved toward an advanced access scheduling model (83%). For licensed practical nurses, there was a median increase from 0 to 3 and for nurse clinicians, from 2 to 3, that helped the development of collaborative teamwork. CONCLUSION:Despite the added teaching mission, the response of the FMU network has been dynamic, has adapted to the major changes and has continued to actively improve access to care for their communities. Challenges still remain regarding work on key priorities for improving access management.