A recently published study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found increased access to virtual healthcare advanced health equity in rural and Indigenous communities in B.C.
The authors focused on the province-wide network, Real-Time Virtual support, which is operated by the Rural Coordination Centre for B.C. and offers guidance to patients and rural healthcare professionals, who may not have access to the breadth of expertise larger hospitals or health centres would.
Work on the support network sped up during the pandemic in March of 2020, with services launched a month later. The network is comprised of provincially licensed healthcare professionals and is funded through their partnership with the B.C. government.
The study found use of the service has increased yearly, “primarily in Northern and Interior health authorities.”
HealthLink B.C., or 8-1-1, is integrated with this network, the study found these physicians supported 176,000 callers and advised 21 per cent of them to seek help in an emergency department.
70 per cent of calls were “downgraded,” meaning they were told to monitor symptoms at home, and some were told to seek medical attention later, if symptoms persisted. These downgrades aim to lessen the loads on already stressed rural emergency departments – an initiative Northern Health is also taking.
The regional health authority works alongside the Rural Coordination Centre in their virtual support program, in addition to offering a variety of online healthcare services to serve northern patients.
“Northern Health recognizes the importance of digital health services as a way to make healthcare more accessible, particularly for those living in remote and rural communities,” a spokesperson for Northern Health said in a statement for My Peace Region Now.
Teladoc is one of several virtual health platforms Northern Health offers – this service, which is still in the trial phase, allows professionals to host appointments via phone or video conference to lessen the load on local primary care providers.
“The Northern Health Virtual Clinic’s program specialists provide consultation and support to health care facilities throughout northern B.C. and are taking part in a remote patient monitoring pilot project being led by the provincial health services authority,” said Northern Health, describing another e-healthcare service they offer.
Looking forward, the researchers said the province claims they will continue to develop this technology, especially for hybrid patient-facing services.
