/R E P R I S E -- Scaling up virtual care in Canada: Recommendations by Canada's medical profession to be published on Feb. 11/ Français
OTTAWA, Feb. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - On Feb. 11, the Virtual Care Task Force (VCTF), a collaboration of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), will release its recommendations for a pan-Canadian approach to the virtualization of health services.
Created in March 2019, the VCTF represents the medical profession in the country on this issue and has been collaborating with key stakeholders, including patients, regulators and policy-makers, to identify the barriers to scaling up virtual care in Canada and what's required to overcome them.
Later in the day, the VCTF will host a panel discussion in Ottawa to discuss the recommendations and explore next steps.
WHEN: |
Tuesday, Feb. 11 |
Report and news release will be made available on each organization's website at 5 am (EST) |
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A panel discussion to discuss the recommendations and explore next steps will be held at 6 pm (EST) at the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa. The discussion will be broadcast live on Facebook. |
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LIVE FEED: |
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KEY FACTS:
- Canada was a pioneer in the development of virtual care through the work of the late Dr. Maxwell House of Memorial University of Newfoundland in the 1970s. Canada has since been surpassed by other countries in the uptake of virtual care.
- According to the latest available data (2015 Canadian Telehealth Report), there were 411,778 telehealth (videoconference) clinical sessions in 2014, representing just 0.15% of the 270.3 million billable services reported by the Canadian Institute for Health Information in 2015–16.
- In 2018, fewer than one in 10 respondents to a CMA survey reported they had had a virtual visit/consultation. By contrast, seven in 10 (69%) reported they would take the opportunity if the service was available.
- Recent surveys by Canada Health Infoway also suggest that Canadians are ready: 71% would like to book appointments online while 41% would like to have video visits with their health care provider.
SPOKESPEOPLE:
- Dr. Gigi Osler, VCTF co-chair and CMA representative
- Dr. Ewan Affleck, VCTF co-chair and CFPC representative
- Dr. Douglas Hedden, VCTF co-chair and Royal College representative
SOURCE Canadian Medical Association
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Canadian Medical Association, Eric Collard, Media relations manager, [email protected], 613-277-1088; College of Family Physicians of Canada, Jayne Johnston, Director, Communications, [email protected], 905-407-9140; Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Melissa Nisbett, Senior communications specialist, [email protected], 613-218-9570
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