CMA: Virtual care is real care: National poll shows Canadians are overwhelmingly satisfied with virtual healthcare

June 8, 2020

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) released a national poll today showing Canadians are embracing virtual care options and would like to not only see them continued after the COVID-19 crisis subsides, but improved and expanded in the future.

The national poll conducted by Abacus Data between May 14—17, 2020 found almost half of all Canadians have now accessed a physician using virtual care options and are highly satisfied with the results.

Those who connected with their doctor virtually during COVID-19 report a 91% satisfaction rate — 17 points higher than in-person emergency room visits. Moving forward, almost half (46%) of Canadians who had the opportunity to use virtual care since the pandemic outbreak would prefer a virtual method as a first point of contact with their doctor.

“Physical distancing measures designed to keep Canadians safe during our fight against COVID-19 have led to the adoption of virtual care out of necessity. We need to build on this momentum. Canadians should be able to access health care in a timely and convenient fashion.” – Dr. Sandy Buchman, CMA president

The poll also highlighted that half of Canadians believe virtual care could impact the cost of our health care system, improve access to specialists (45%) and timeliness of test results (41%).

Earlier this year, a CMA-led task force issued a report outlining recommendations on how the federal government and stakeholders can improve and expand virtual care throughout Canada.

“What’s needed now is for the federal government to facilitate a pan-Canadian framework for virtual care, with provinces and territories playing a key role in how virtual care is improved and expanded,” says Virtual Care Task Force Co-Chair and CMA Past President, Dr. Gigi Osler. “All Canadians – from urban to rural, remote and Indigenous communities – can benefit from more choice and convenience when it comes to how health care is accessed and delivered.”

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