Billed as remedy for doctor shortage, virtual medicine in N.S. hits bottleneck – GLOBAL

December 7, 2022

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual medicine offered a novel way for patients to see doctors during a lockdown and hope that technology could alleviate chronic pressure on a strained health system.

For many in Nova Scotia, though, the early promise has proven illusory.

Tim Neufeld, 28, from Dartmouth, N.S., has been on Nova Scotia’s wait-list for a family doctor for five years. He said in a recent interview that he was left frustrated after several unsuccessful attempts at securing a virtual appointment.

“The biggest hurdle is just accessing the system, having to log on between 8:59 a.m. and 9:09 a.m.,” he said, noting that when he tried to sign up for virtual care after 9:10 a.m., all the day’s appointments were already booked.

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/9331307/ns-virtual-medicine-bottleneck/