Background

As part of bringing improved healthcare services into the 21st century, the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) created the Réseau Universitaire Intégré de Santé et Services Sociaux (RUISSS) in 2003. A portion of Quebec’s territory was assigned to each of the province’s four Faculties of Medicine (, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke and Université Laval), with the intent to facilitate specialized care, medical education, and medical research throughout the province’s many regions.

In February 2015, the National Assembly adopted An Act to modify the organization and governance of the health and social services network. This law consolidates a majority of the health and social services at the core of a Réseau Territorial de Services (RTS) to either a Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux (CISSS) or Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux (CIUSSS).

“This reorganization is an opportunity to harmonize practices and improve the flow of services through the merger of various institutions to the benefit of users and the public.” The describes the organizational profile and the highlights of the network reform.

Every RUISSS from the province's four faculties of medicine has the mandate to contribute to the coordination of healthcare, teaching and research offered by each faculty of medicine and their respective University Hospital Centre, their CIUSSS, CISSSS and health centres.

In the case of RUISSS , these are the Health Centre (MUHC), 2 CIUSS, 3 CISSS and three other health centres.

The RUISSS territory includes 1.9 million people spanning 7 regions. Health determinants — such as revenue, education, social environment and social support, available health services and culture — vary according to each region. Additionally, the shortage of healthcare professionals is a distinct problem requiring its own solutions.

Since RUISSS was established, its members have worked to offer new opportunities for learning, to promote residents’ training in the regions, to increase skills in telehealth, and to create clinical coordination. All of this allows patients to be treated as close to their homes as possible within the constraints of available resources and expertise. RUISSS 's goals remain unchanged: to be a role model for the continuum of care, research, teaching and evaluation of technologies and to help improve the health and well-being of all Quebecers.

Back to top