Alain Vadeboncoeur

Alain Vadeboncoeur is the son of the author Pierre Vadeboncoeur^[1] and Marie Gaboury, a Franco-Ontarian social worker.^[2][3] He grew up in Montreal's Outremont district.^[3][4]

Vadeboncoeur graduated from Cégep de Saint-Laurent in 1982 with a Diploma of College Studies in the natural sciences, then from the Université de Montréal in 1988 with a Doctor of Medicine. He completed his residency training in family medicine at the Université de Montréal and obtained his license to practice family medicine in 1990. He was recognized as a specialist in emergency medicine in 2000.^[5][6][7]

Vadeboncoeur was recruited by the Pierre-Boucher Hospital Center in Longueuil in 1990, where he became head of the department of emergency medicine.^{[3][8][9][10]} He was responsible for the coordination of medical services in Montérégie during the ice storm that hit Eastern Canada in 1998.^[11] In 1999, he became a member of the Department of Medicine of the Montreal Heart Institute, where he founded the Emergency Medicine Service in 2004, which he still runs.^[5]

Vadeboncoeur chaired the Quebec Association of Emergency Physicians from 1998 to 2000.^[10][12] He chaired the Table of Emergency Heads of Montreal, from 2001 to 2003. He was also President of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec from 2004 to 2008.^[5][12] He has been a member of several working groups of health professionals, most recently of the Interdisciplinary Emergency Response Task Force in Montreal.^[12]

Vadeboncoeur quickly made his mark in the research community. He was a member of various research networks in emergency medicine during his career, he was Scientific Director of a conference on emergency medicine organized by Quebec's federation of general practitioners in 1997 and participated in the organization of several other conferences, in Canada and elsewhere. Together with other researchers, clinicians and administrators, in 2001 he founded the Inter-University Group for Emergency Research.^[5][12] In 2005, he co-chaired the first International Interdisciplinary Conference on Emergency Medicine, held in Montreal.^[13]

He continues his research work and is a member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Peer Review Committee. He is a reviewer for three scientific publications: the Canadian Journal of Cardiology (CJC), the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine (CJEM) and the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).^[6]

Vadeboncoeur has been teaching at the Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the Université de Montréal since 2003, including as an associate clinical professor since 2009.^[5] He is also one of the creators and the administrator of a course on the electrocardiogram.^[12]

Vadeboncoeur has become an increasingly familiar presence in French-language Canadian media, both through his regular columns in several media and as a resource for journalists reporting on health issues. He has been commenting on health issues on his blog hosted by the website of the magazine L'Actualité since 2013. Since October 2017, he also produces a monthly column in the paper version of the magazine.^[3] He has also published texts on his blog on Rogers Group's Profession Santé Québec publication since 2009.^[14]

We must simplify things, we must talk to patients. Appearing in the media allowed me to improve the way I talk to patients and that is still a fundamental aspect of care.^[3]

His interventions often aim to correct perceptions concerning fraudulent treatments, or unfounded medical assertions. For example, he issued warnings about the so-called Zamboni treatment for multiple sclerosis,^[15] "detoxification" treatments^[16] and denounced news sites that contribute to spreading false news about health.^[17] Denouncing myths in health was also the theme of a series of lectures he offered with Olivier Bernard in 2015.^[18]

The term "detoxification" is a case of misuse of language, used as a very effective marketing strategy.

From 2010 to 2013, he hosted the television health information program Les docteurs on Radio-Canada.^[5][12] Vadeboncoeur has frequently acted as an expert medical consultant or collaborator for documentary series such as J'aurais donc dû, docteur^[19] and Clinique roulante,^[20] as well as for informational programs, including Une pilule, une petite granule^[21] and RDI-Santé^[22] and variety shows (L'après-midi porte conseil,^[23] Medium large).^[24]

Is it acceptable to say anything with the objective of selling, often at a high price, a little placebo effect? (...) There is also the risk that some patients will abandon effective treatments for fads of dubious efficacy.^[17]

Vadeboncoeur has spoken repeatedly on the need to preserve a public health system, stressing in particular that a significant private component increases the costs of the system.^[2][9] He made this theme the subject of his 2012 book, Privé de soins, contre la régression tranquille en santé (Denied Care: Against a Quiet Regression in Health Care). Since its founding in 2008, Vadeboncoeur has been a member of the group Médecins québécois pour le régime public de santé and its chairman since 2012.^{[5][25][9][12]}

This kind of equality in the emergency room, led me to believe in the importance of maintaining a free and egalitarian system, even if it is imperfect - and I tried to improve these imperfections in the sectors I'm familiar with.^[3]

In 2016, Vadeboncoeur joined eight other Quebec personalities on a consultation tour on the future of Québec called Faut qu'on se parle.^[26][27] At the end of its tour, the collective summarized comments gathered in 163 assemblies and 19 open forums^[28] in the book Ne renonçons à rien (Let's not give anything up).^[29][30]