The nurse-owned, nurse-run Centre Médiacl TaL in Candiac, Que., has 14,000 clients and it’s the only clinic of its kind in the province. It operates like a club. It has a patient-centred philosophy where clients are treated as equal partners in recovery and the promotion of their own health. For an annual fee of $175, clients sign a "patient partnership" contract for unlimited access to a nurse via telephone, email or in person, often on the same day, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays. The patient-partnership is a strategy (French only) developed by the Université de Montréal faculty of medicine and research institute to engage and integrate patients in care. Of 14,000 patients, 3,000 signed up for partnerships and the rest attend on a walk-in basis. Drop-ins pay a consultation fee of $60 to see a nurse.
Engagement