Province ‘really pleased’ with virtual care uptake numbers

As the pilot project VirtualCareNS soon expands to the rest of the province, Nova Scotia Health is excited about the uptake and interest in virtual care.

The project launched earlier this year on May 21, and it first began as a test-and-trial form of health care.

“It started out as, 'Let's test and try a new solution for Nova Scotians to have access to virtual care,” Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy told NEWS 95.7's fill-in host Todd Veinotte. “It was funded through the government and indeed does provide access to virtual primary care to people who are unattached patients.”

Last week, Premier Tim Houston announced that VirtualCareNS would soon be rolled out to the rest of the province including the Central and Eastern Zones.

The program started in the Northern and Western zones of Nova Scotia where there are higher numbers of people on the registry waiting for a primary care provider.

“We agreed that we would run this, pilot it and learn from the difference it may be making in terms of access, as well as the patient experience as well as the provider experience,” Dr. Murphy said. “So, we launched this in May and we're doing a comprehensive evaluation to determine whether we're improving access and experience and whether this is a solution that is, indeed, of interest and making a difference to Nova Scotians.”

So far, 18,000 people were reached out to, about 4,700 registered and there have been more than 1,100 virtual care visits.

Dr. Murphy said the province is really pleased with those numbers.

Of the people who are registered, she said about 7 per cent — or roughly 1,400 — have actually participated in a virtual care visit with the primary care doctor or nurse practitioner.

“Every visit, we know what the volumes are, how long they're taking, and how satisfied people are and, perhaps, not satisfied with their visit,” she said. “We're monitoring this on the way.”

Throughout the process, she said the province is learning about areas that could be more targeted or enhanced.

While VirtualCareNS is still being rolled out to the rest of the province, eligible people could be contacted between now and the end of December.

Currently, Nova Scotians can download the app on their phone, tablet or computer — even in a library or community centre — and access virtual care from Monday to Friday. Dr. Murphy said the province anticipates that it'll eventually be able to offer virtual care services in the evenings and over the weekend.

The project is a partnership between the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the Department of Health and Wellness.

There are currently 13 primary care providers — 10 family doctors and 3 nurse practitioners — offering virtual care services in Nova Scotia.

But when the services are extended to the province's other zones, there will be more providers. She said currently, there are 30 more primary care providers being onboarded.

To be eligible for VirtualCareNS, a Nova Scotian must be on the Need a Family Practice Registry.

As of Sept. 1, there were 75,180 Nova Scotians on the Need a Family Practice Registry.

“This is leveraging physicians, nurse practitioners and others who are based in Nova Scotia and they are licensed in Nova Scotia,” Dr. Murphy said. “I would also like to emphasize that it doesn't replace a permanent family practice.

“We see this as being a really effective tool to keep people satisfied and excited about some of the innovations.”