4 replies to this topic

[dtrud]

Hi all. New (hopeful) dad on the board. We're currently starting the process with the MRC and we live in Gatineau. I've seen lots of very informative threads on here from folks in our area which is great, but nothing recent.

 

Question: Are there clinics in Gatineau that can do the monitoring once the drug treatments start? The constant back-and-forth to Montreal is a huge drain on all fronts (physically, mentally and financially). With the traffic coming in and out of MTL, and the 2.5 hour trip one way, we constantly have to take a day off work (both of us), even for a 90 minute information session.

 

Are there places in Gatineau that will do blood work and monitoring instead of near daily trips to MTL?

 

Many thanks all.

[ociwoman]

Hi there,

There is an ultrasound clinic in Gatineau that might be able to do some ultrasounds for you, but they are not specialised in fertility monitoring, so there are a few risks with using a non-specialised service-provider. Also, none of the fertility treatment you receive outside of a Quebec fertility clinic is covered by RAMQ. This means that if you went to a Gatineau ultrasound clinic, you would have to pay the full fee for all ultrasounds and RAMQ would not reimburse you. That can get very expensive.

Blood work can be done at most Dynacare clinics in Gatineau, but you won't get quick test results communicated to your clinic because most of these tests don't get analyzed on site at the blood draw centre. For many blood tests, you need the results communicated right away, so not the best option.

The Ottawa Fertility Clinic (OFC) sometimes does monitoring for patients who are having ivf elsewhere. Of course, there are fees that go with that - the majority of which are not reimbursed by ramq. That being said, OFC offers excellent timely specialized services, so they are worth the $$$ to reduce the stress from all the travel and time off work.

What you might actually have a harder time with is getting the Montreal clinic to agree to work with another clinic for monitoring. We contacted three Montreal clinics and none of them would allow us to be monitored elsewhere. That was in 2013, so things may have changed since then.

Hope this helps et bonne chance!

[dtrud]

Thanks for the info. It's not the answer I was hoping for but it helps. I'm not sure how people outside of Montreal within Quebec are supposed to deal with the distances involved... It's a major setback, and I'm not sure what we'll do in order to accommodate this situation.

 

Thanks again.

[ociwoman]

Don't forget that you can claim the travel, hotel and meal expenses related to your treatment on your Quebec tax return. You can claim these expenses and get 50% back (up to $10k max) at tax time.

Also you can claim any non-reimbursed medical and travel expenses on your federal tx return as well. This can generate a refund of approximately 15% more. So in total, you could get about 65% of your expenses back. You might want to consider staying in Montreal for the whole cycle, since you can get a decent refund of expenses.

Food for thought.

[dtrud]

Thanks a bunch for the info. We've kept all our receipts and had our calendar/info session yesterday. So minimally, we'll need another 4 trip to Montreal in the next 3-4 weeks, and possibly more depending on ultrasound #2. The travel costs won't be seriously substantial I suppose, and the tax refund will help a whole lot. I don't relish the thought of the 4am road trip, but I suppose it's a small price to pay (might even get me somewhat prepared for those long nights ahead!).

 

Thanks again.