Some Quebec hospitals are freeing up beds with virtual health care

As she prepared to return home from Montreal's Lakeshore General Hospital earlier than expected, Danielle Lacasse was given a smart watch and a cell phone last Friday.

"A virtual nurse will see all the information, such as your blood pressure, saturation, your temperature and respiration," Sharon Dubiel told Lacasse.

Dubiel is head of the transition unit with the local health agency, the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'île-de-Montréal. 

"Every morning, every evening, there will be a questionnaire sent to you by text asking basic questions about your breathing, if you cough, things like that," Dubiel said. "At any time, you can call the nurse 24/7."

Hospitalized for a few weeks for a chronic lung disease, Lacasse was happy to return home early.

"At home, I sleep well. I eat well. It's freedom," said Lacasse. 

It's all thanks to a new virtual care program at the hospital. 

"In the West Island, our population is gradually increasing, but we have limited space at Lakeshore," said program co-ordinator Dr. Amar Bhindi. "This is a way of expanding the number of beds."

Launched in February 2024, the program currently offers virtual medical monitoring for five patients, and Bhindi hopes to double that number in the coming months, he said.

Lakeshore has 257 beds for patients who need hospitalization, and it has one of the most overwhelmed emergency rooms in the province.

When she unveiled the project in May 2023, Sonia Bélanger, Quebec's minister responsible for seniors, anticipated the implementation of eight such programs by 2024. Radio-Canada has learned only four have been launched so far.

Bélanger said patience is required as this program gets underway. Protocols must be put in place to ensure patients have the same close medical surveillance at home that they would in hospital, she said.

"It's an extremely important cultural change when you are a health professional or a doctor — when you are used to providing care and services in a hospital environment," she said.

Dr. Chantal Vallée is with the CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre on Montreal's South Shore. The virtual program there is still in its infancy.

"We have to convince doctors that it is possible to do it," she said. "I think that, often, they are the ones who are the most worried."

Ultimately, at Charles-Le Moyne Hospital, 10 to 15 patients could be monitored remotely. 

"With the aging of the population in particular, we really need to make sure we think very differently about the way we provide care and services to the population," said Bélanger.

Her office says 10 more hospitals are expected to join the project this year. The entire project has a three-year budget of $76 million.

However, CISSS de Laval management convinced the Ministry of Health to integrate the virtual care program into a face-to-face version.

A team of around 20 nurses and up to nine doctors monitors around a dozen patients and can make up to four home visits per day.

With a budget of nearly $3 million, CISSS de Laval says it will increase to 20 patients in the coming months.