There's a new albertapatients newsletter!
March 4, 2021
Every so often we send albertapatients.ca members a specifically-themed health care survey, create a high-level report on their responses, then share it back to the community through an email newsletter. The most recent newsletter discusses patient impressions and experiences with Virtual Care.
Virtual Care Study February 2021
Our February survey asked albertapatients about their experiences with and perspectives on "virtual care". With COVID-19, receiving care via a "virtual consult" is a fact of life for many patients, but it's also very popular.
It seems most patients would like to continue to have access to virtual care for a variety of services they receive from their physician, and expanded virtual care could be an important incentive to strengthen patient attachment to their "medical home", even sometimes if their own physician isn't immediately available.
But it's not for everyone, and not for everything according to patients. Some people prefer in-office visits with their doctor over a telephone or videoconference call, and there are clearly instances where going to visit your physician will be necessary (particularly for new concerns that will require a physical exam).
Bricks and mortar doctors' offices won't be going anywhere anytime soon, and there seems to be some reticence by most patients to try new services which are purely virtual such as Babylon and Maple. There is a segment of patients who may opt for this type of care, but most seem to prefer virtual care which is connected back to their own physician.
