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The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts announced Thursday that as of Nov. 1, physicians who are members of Médecins francophones du Canada will be able to send patients on visits to the MMFA, allowing patients, accompanied by caregivers or family members, to enjoy the health benefits of a free trip to see some art.

The museum says the one-year pilot project is the first such initiative in the world.

It will be used to deal with a wide variety of physical and mental-health problems.

Thomas Bastien, director of education and wellness at the Museum of Fine Arts, notes that the museum has been working with the medical community for 20 years to try to use art to help their patients. But this will be the first time that the doctors will be able to make museum prescriptions.

“We saw that the museum was good for people, so we decided to start this program with the doctors,” said Bastien. “If you’re suffering from breast cancer, you could come to the museum and you might feel better.”

Doctors will each be able to assign up to 50 museum prescriptions over the course of the pilot project. Each prescription will allow entry for up to two adults and two children age 17 or under.

There are some anglophone doctors, who work in English and French, who are members of Médecins francophones du Canada.

bkelly@postmedia.com

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