Researchers say Quebec's healthcare system needs major reforms – just not the kind Health Minister Christian Dubé is proposing.

On Monday, the Institut de recherche et d'informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) released a six-point plan to reform the sector. Called "Six remedies to revolutionize the health system in Quebec," it suggests changes to doctors' employment and compensation models, investments in preventative and alternative forms of care, and a deprivatization of healthcare in Quebec.

This last point runs counter to the "Dubé plan," which critics have said opens a back door to greater privatization of the sector.

The minister "seems very set on increasing the share of the private sector in the provision of healthcare services in Quebec," says IRIS researcher Guillaume Tremblay-Boily. He adds that this tendency runs counter to healthcare research, which "clearly show[s] ... that this is a dead end."

IRIS researchers suggest the government look beyond doctors and "create an incentive for other professionals, such as physiotherapists or psychologists, to reintegrate into the public sector."

If broadening access to these services doesn't sway Dubé, Tremblay-Boily says maybe the argument for home care will.

"Right now, the focus is really on creating long-term care facilities where people become permanent residents, whereas people in surveys frequently say that they would prefer aging at home."

With an aging population, investing in services to support aging at home isn't just a health issue; it's a smart financial choice for governments too, he adds.

"There's a lot of leeway there."

Listen to the full interview below: