New Canadian research suggests virtual care is effective and safe – CTV
Dec. 7, 2023
Since the rise of virtual care in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients and doctors were able to use this alternate form of care “safely and effectively,” new research from McMaster University suggests.
Those who were seen in virtual care had fewer hospitalizations, fewer visits to intensive care units and fewer health-care visits, the study found. These patients, however, tended to see their own family doctor more through virtual means than patients who opted to see their doctor in-person.
Shawn Mondoux, an emergency physician and associate professor in the department of medicine at McMaster in Hamilton, Ont., led the study and says his team’s findings suggest virtual care is just as safe as in-person care. Virtual care includes medical appointments or health care done remotely, such as over video or by phone.
