Physical distancing and stay-at-home orders are forcing unprecedented change and innovation in public medicine that experts say will revolutionize how we access care.
OTN’s virtual system took on 16,000 applicants from mid-March until the end of April and video visits have grown from about 1,000 per day at the end February to about 14,000 a day in mid-May. That represents just a fraction of what’s happening virtually in Ontario, says Brown.
Prior to the pandemic, PocketPills’ growth was fuelled by employee benefits providers looking for cost-effective solutions, says Harj Samra, a pharmacist and co-founder of the Surrey, B.C.-based company. Carter has regular appointments with about 10 specialists and a number of therapists at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. The family was visiting the hospital at least three times a month and all appointments were in person until pandemic restrictions were put in place.
Prior to the pandemic, a “very small percentage” of appointments happened virtually. That has undoubtedly permanently changed, she says. A full 94 per cent of the clinic’s April consultations were virtual. Other hospitals across Canada and one in the U.K. are interested in the model, says Reid. There is potential to add the service permanently, but that requires crunching some data. CHEO staff are following up with every patient family within 24 hours to document their experience.“It’s different. It's new, but the feedback from the physicians has been like, ‘Wow, you know, there's a lot you can do actually.
Last year, Ontario announced a digital-first strategy and that it had agreed to fund video patient visits on the OTN platform at the same rate as in-person visits. The government also said it planned to expand coverage to phone calls and secure messaging and care dispensed beyond the OTN platform. “With this pandemic we have to realize this is an opportunity for meaningful change in the health-care system.”Hamilton, Ont. family physician Dr. Rick Tytus routinely makes virtual house calls.
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