How a family medicine group in Quebec’s Centre-du-Québec region went paperless, grew appointment volume by more than 20% and nearly eliminated no-shows, without adding administrative staff.
+20% appointment volume in one year, or more than 12,500 additional visits
1.37% no-show rate, thanks to automated reminders
Zero paper in the clinic, thanks to MYLE Direct and the Patient Portal
About FMG Princeville
FMG Princeville, a group of 12 family physicians, is led by Dr. Marie-Christine Fréchette and Dr. Esmeralda Alias Lopez, family physicians and co-owners of the Family Medicine Group (FMG). Together, they bring nearly 30 years of family medicine experience in Princeville.
They have made innovation a philosophy of practice. That means innovating through interprofessional collaboration, staying on the lookout for new technology, and constantly searching for new ways to help patients and work more efficiently. Their vision of modern family medicine is simple: practice should be as enjoyable for the physician as it is accessible for the patient.
The Challenge
For a team that wanted to move fast, paper was a constant drag. Every incoming fax had to be printed, scanned and filed. Lab results, referrals and prescription renewals moved from desk to desk, and work piled up faster than the team could clear it.
Paper also tied everyone to the building. Returning calls, reviewing labs or renewing prescriptions all had to happen on site. Training new administrative staff took time, because so much of the job was learning manual processes. And reaching patients still relied mostly on the phone, which made it harder to fill every appointment slot.
Defining Priorities
In changing EMRs, the clinic wasn’t just looking for new software, but for a new way of working. It set three priorities:
- End paper and manual tasks
- Become more agile, including the ability to work remotely
- Make it easier for patients to reach their care team
“We made the decision to adopt and stay on the lookout for every new technology available, to make our day-to-day work easier and, at the same time, to give patients easier access to us.”
— Dr. Esmeralda Alias Lopez, family physician and co-owner, FMG Princeville (translated from French)
The Solution: A Paperless Clinic, Accessible from Anywhere
In fall 2022, the clinic’s 12 physicians moved to MYLE. Several features drove the change, each addressing the clinic’s priorities directly:
- MYLE Direct: inbound and outbound web fax sends documents straight into the EMR instead of to a printer.
- Patient Portal: patients book appointments online and communicate with the clinic.
- Automated reminders: appointment confirmations go out by SMS and email.
- Remote work: returning calls, reviewing labs and renewing prescriptions can happen from anywhere.
| Goal | Rollout | One Year Later |
|---|---|---|
| Zero paper and more agility | Fall 2022, 12 physicians | +20% appointments |
Results After One Year
+20% appointment volume in one year
In its first year on MYLE, FMG Princeville increased appointment volume by more than 20%. That’s more than 12,500 additional in-clinic visits, with no added administrative staff. For a 12-physician clinic, it’s remarkable organic growth, and proof that better technology unlocks real productivity gains.
Part of that gain comes from new flexibility. Tasks that once required being at the clinic can now be done remotely, and administrative roles are easier to staff.
“MYLE gives us more flexibility and autonomy in our work. It’s now possible to consider remote work for returning calls, reviewing labs, managing prescription renewals, and more. On the secretarial side, we can now easily hire part-time students because there’s far less paper handling. Young people are used to technology like MYLE, which means we have much less training to do.”
— Management team, FMG Princeville (translated from French)
A 1.37% no-show rate
FMG Princeville’s no-show rate is now just 1.37%, a figure that’s practically unheard of across the network. Automated appointment confirmations by SMS and email make it possible, so every time slot is filled by a patient who needs it. The reminders have even helped in urgent situations:
“We had a patient we were urgently trying to reach to bring them in for a clinic appointment. We couldn’t get through by phone, so we took a chance and booked them a slot on the calendar. In the end, the patient showed up because they had received the automated SMS reminders.”
— Management team, FMG Princeville (translated from French)
Zero paper in the clinic
With MYLE Direct and the Patient Portal, FMG Princeville has eliminated the physical handling of documents. Faxes arrive directly in the EMR, so the cycle of printing, scanning and filing is gone. The Patient Portal also lets the clinic run its walk-in service without a secretary.
“Since we’ve had MYLE, we no longer have work piling up like before. Tools like inbound fax let us skip a whole series of steps tied to faxing, scanning, printing, filing paper, and so on. It’s incredible how much paper and time we save! On top of that, with the Patient Portal, we can run our walk-in clinic independently, without a secretary!”
— Management team, FMG Princeville (translated from French)
What Other Clinics Can Learn
FMG Princeville’s story shows that the right technology does more than digitize paper. Combined with engaged leadership and a team open to new ideas, it changes how a clinic works:
- Capacity grows without adding staff, because time once spent handling paper goes back to patient care.
- Schedules stay full, because automated reminders keep patients connected to their appointments.
- Work becomes more flexible, because the team can handle many tasks from anywhere and new staff learn faster.
For Dr. Alias Lopez, greater accessibility makes practice far more rewarding. Patients arrive at the clinic happy, and for the team, that’s the real reward every day.
Watch the Video
Dr. Fréchette and Dr. Alias Lopez introduce their clinic and share their vision of modern family medicine.
About MYLE An EMR developed in Quebec by MEDFAR that brings together the clinical record, online booking, the Patient Portal and patient communication in a single platform.
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