Quebec doctor explains why he chose to go into private medicine [Video]

Quebec is has more private doctors than any other province in the country — why are so many choosing to practice outside the public system?

One family doctor who has worked on both sides shared his story with CTV News Montreal.

Dr. Martin Potter runs the clinic Clinique Medicale Sante Plus in Vaudreuil.

Patients can get a same-day appointment to see a family doctor, but they have to pay a fee: 15-minute appointment costs $150.

Potter said many of his patients do the math and find it’s worth it.

“Instead of going to an emergency room where (they’re) going to have to wait 10 hours and miss a whole day’s work, they bite the bullet and pay the fee,” he said.

Potter said he never thought he would make the leap from public to private until a few years ago.

Having spent nearly 20 years working in the public system, …