Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Virtual Care: A Major Shift for Physicians and Patients

Abstract

To reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Canada, patients receiving physician services experienced a significant shift to virtual appointments by telephone, video conference and online messaging as many physician visits moved from in-person to virtual delivery. The Canadian Institute for Health Information's analysis of the physician billing data in five provinces (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia) shows that during the first year of the pandemic in 2020, up to twice as many physicians provided care virtually compared to 2019. At the same time, the rate at which patients received virtual services quadrupled. Furthermore, data from the 2021 Commonwealth Fund (CMWF) survey of older adults show that almost twice as many Canadian seniors (71%) had a virtual appointment with a doctor or healthcare provider compared to seniors in other CMWF countries (39%). Going forward, virtual care remains a significant mode of delivery and has important implications for the future of patient care and the relationships between patients and providers.

A Phenomenological Inquiry of the Shift to Virtual Care Delivery: Insights from Front-Line Primary Care Providers

“…This mirrors findings from a 2021 survey of virtual care use in Canada but with variations expected in response to the different waves of COVID-19 prevalence [8]. The rapid shift to virtual care, particularly in primary care, led to necessary adaptations to usual practices and clinical workflow [9,10]. In primary care, many providers had limited knowledge or experience with the technologies, policies, and jurisdictional issues that virtual care presented [11][12][13].…”

Bridging the Gap in Harm Reduction Using Mobile Overdose Response Services (MORS) in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

“…Reliance on telemedicine grew substantially during the pandemic, with an estimated 24-42% of physician services in Canada being offered virtually at some point 22 . Addiction and SUD treatments were not exempt to this trend [23][24][25] .…”

From the Editors

“…The authors highlight the case for further regulation and greater public awareness. Husak et al (2022) from CIHI explore the rapid increase in physicians using virtual care modalities since the onset of the pandemic -modalities including telephone, videoconferencing and online messaging. The authors analyze physician billing data in five Canadian provinces and review a related survey of seniors in Canada and 10 peer countries led by the Commonwealth Fund.…”