For the past few years, British Columbians have moved to seeing doctors in person through screens virtual health care,
“There’s clearly some benefit to (virtual health care) and that’s why we’re working to make the best clinical decisions,” said BC Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Earlier this week, changes took effect in Ontario when the Ontario Medical Association capped the amount doctors can be paid for virtual visits.
The nominal assessment was set at $37 per visit but changed to $20 for a video session and $15 for a phone call.
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BC doctors and the province are now discussing whether changes are needed here.
“We need to enforce standards for virtual visits to make sure people are getting the care they need,” Dix said. “There are some things that literally just can’t be dealt with.”
Reliance on virtual medicine has increased during the pandemic as last April there were about 1.5 million virtual visits in BC compared to about 1.2 million in-person visits.
BC Green Party leader Sonia Faustenau said, “We want to make sure that what we’re getting is the kind of health care that actually benefits people.”
Rocket Doctor is an Ontario-based company that connects doctors with patients outside of regular clinic hours. Company employs approximately 70 doctors in BC
“We know from our patient surveys that 33 percent of the patients we see may have gone to an emergency room,” said Dr. William Cherniak, Founder and CEO of Rocket Doctor.
“50 percent must have gone to walk-in clinics.”
According to the BC government, it could take months to make a decision about the cost.
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