St. Laurent resident Rosalie Simon has been receiving care from gynecologist Dr. Kamal Maraghi regularly for 20 years but was shocked when told that she’d require referral before getting future appointments.
Simon has no family doctor and would have to wait in line at a clinic each time she wished to see her doctor.
When she objected, a secretary recommended she get a referral from the Physimed walk-in clinic, in the same complex as Maraghi’s office.
But Quebec's College of Physicians told CTV Montreal that it considers referrals unnecessary in such instances.
Maraghi would not grant an on camera interview, however, he wrote that he considers referrals a good medical practice, as it avoids the doubling of services.
The health complex has been under investigation by Quebec’s health insurance board for two and a half years for separate billing practices, as the group has allegedly billed patients for health assessments to see doctors already covered by Medicare.
Each health assessment was costing patients over $300.
Simon, who said she is now on the search for a new gynecologist, said that she hopes others don’t join the trend.
“It's just something that isn't sitting right with me that you should have to have a referral every time you go to the doctor for a pap smear,” she said.
