Anyone who has called 811 in the middle of a Quebec winter knows the hold music better than they would like. Waits can stretch past two hours in the busy months, which is a long time to sit with a feverish child on your lap and a question you cannot answer yourself.
Santé Québec has launched an 811 virtual assistant that lets people describe their symptoms online before a nurse calls them back, CTV News reported on November 5. The tool recorded 3,205 connections in October, with users spending about 11 minutes on it on average, and Santé Québec called the early data encouraging. In the two pilot call centres, the average call got almost seven minutes shorter in its first month, and the nurse still made every clinical decision.
Key takeaways
Residents of five Quebec regions can now describe their symptoms online at 811.sante.quebec, and a nurse calls them back with the details in hand.
Santé Québec recorded 3,205 connections to the assistant in October, with an average session of 10.9 minutes.
In the pilot call centres, average call handling time fell 23 percent, from 29 minutes 38 seconds to 22 minutes 49 seconds.
Info-Santé 811 takes about two million calls a year, and its busiest stretch runs from November to March.
The online route is optional, so calling 811 by phone works exactly the way it always has.
Why are 811 wait times so long every winter?
Info-Santé 811 takes about two million calls a year, and the heaviest stretch runs from November to March, when flu, gastro, and every other winter bug arrive at once. In January 2025, according to CTV News, the line recorded its longest wait in nearly four years, with callers holding for close to two and a half hours.
Those 811 wait times have a simple cause buried inside every call. Before a nurse can give advice, someone has to collect your name, address, medications, and a description of what hurts and since when, and that groundwork eats into the time of the most stretched people on the line.
How does the virtual assistant change a call to the nurse line?
The assistant moves that groundwork online. On the Info-Santé 811 website, you fill in a short form, describe your situation by typing or speaking, and send it securely, which the site says takes 10 to 30 minutes. A nurse from the nurse line then calls you back with your answers already on screen, so the conversation can start with the part that actually needs a nurse.
Santé Québec has been firm about where the boundary sits. It told CTV News that assessment and clinical decisions remain the responsibility of health-care professionals, and using the tool is entirely optional.
The early results are promising. Between September 29 and October 27, the average time to handle a call in the two pilot centres fell from 29 minutes 38 seconds to 22 minutes 49 seconds, a drop of 23 percent, according to Le Soleil. Handling time is different from the wait before a nurse picks up, and Santé Québec has yet to say how much the 811 virtual assistant has shortened the hold itself.
Can AI in health care stay out of clinical decisions?
This is the second time Quebec has used AI in health care on the same line. Since April, adult callers who choose the flu or gastro option have been routed to non-clinical agents who use an AI-powered app called Navig. Santé Québec says the wait for those calls dropped from nearly an hour to about 15 minutes. CP24 reported in July that the change made Info-Santé the first health service of its kind in Canada to use AI this way.
In both cases, the software handles the sorting and the paperwork while a person makes the judgment call. That division of labour is the whole point, because the most useful thing a nurse brings to a phone call is the follow-up question a form would never think to ask.
Will other provinces follow Quebec's lead?
If you live elsewhere in Canada, treat this as a preview. Most provinces run their own version of 811, and our guide to what the 811 health line actually does for you explains how the service works. Many face the same winter surge, so a tool that trims calls without taking decisions away from nurses is the kind of idea other provinces watch closely.
Access matters as much as speed. Keeping the phone line open alongside the online form protects people who are not comfortable typing out symptoms or who lack reliable internet. Half of Canadians say long waits keep them from care, according to a recent poll on wait times, so anything that shortens the queue without closing a door deserves attention.
When should you call 811 instead of 911?
Whatever province you live in, it helps to know what each number is for before you need it. You call 811 for free advice from a nurse when you are unsure whether a symptom needs attention tonight, tomorrow, or at all, and you call 911 for emergencies.
Call 911 for an emergency. Chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke, or a serious injury should never wait on a health line.
Use 811 when you are unsure. A nurse can tell you whether to rest at home, visit a pharmacy, book an appointment, or go to the emergency department.
Try the online route if you are eligible. In Quebec, the assistant is open so far to residents of Capitale-Nationale, Laurentides, Chaudière-Appalaches, Estrie, and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
Keep your details handy. Have your health card, a list of your medications, and a clear timeline of your symptoms ready, whichever route you use.
Book the follow-up the nurse recommends. Our guide to choosing between urgent care and the ER helps when the advice is to be seen today, and a virtual doctor visit can handle many follow-ups.
Frequently asked questions
Who can use the online assistant right now?
The 811 virtual assistant is open to residents of Capitale-Nationale, Laurentides, Chaudière-Appalaches, Estrie, and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, and Santé Québec plans to extend it gradually to the rest of the province. Anyone in Quebec can still call 811 by phone at any hour, which remains the best route for people who would rather speak with someone directly.
Does an AI decide what care you need?
The software makes no decisions about your care. It asks the questions a nurse would normally ask and summarizes your answers, and then a nurse reviews them, calls you back, and decides what you need. Santé Québec has stressed that assessment and every clinical decision stay with health-care professionals.
Is 811 the right number in an emergency?
For an emergency, always call 911, whether the problem is chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding, or a serious injury. The 811 line is for non-urgent questions, when you need a nurse's advice about whether and where to get care, and most provinces offer a similar service.
Your next step
When a nurse tells you to get something looked at this week, that is where the phone line hands off and the booking begins. The Medimap Health Hub has more on getting care in Canada, and you can compare walk-in clinics near you and skip the hold music for that last step.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. It does not replace a conversation with a doctor or other qualified health professional who knows your history. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
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