‘Video visits’ with doctors will save time for patients, province says

Thestar.com
Nov. 14, 2019
Rob Ferguson

More Ontarians will be able to have “video visits” with doctors over the next year as the provincial government takes the first steps to offering more digital health care as part of the strategy to end hallway health care, says Health Minister Christine Elliott.

Changes to modernize communication between patients and health care providers will include secure messaging, online booking of appointments, better access for Ontarians to their own health care records and allowing care providers to look at patients’ full online records under new privacy rules.

Patients should talk to their doctors to see if visits can be done from the comfort of their living rooms over their computers or smartphones, Elliott said Wednesday at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.

“If it’s something really difficult and complicated they’ll still need to have an in-person visit,” she said. “But for many people who just want to have a quick consult with their doctor, the virtual care visits are going to save them a lot of time.”

The province will spend $3 million this year to compensate physicians for video visits.

Doctors at Credit Valley are already using video links to consult with patients and colleagues at other sites in the Trillium Health Partners network of hospitals. The Ontario Telemedicine Network facilitates similar connections between doctors and patients in northern and rural communities.

Through proposed amendments to the Personal Health Information Protection Act, new Ontario Health teams being formed to oversee care for patients will be able to collect, use and share information from individual patients so they don’t have to tell their medical stories “over and over and over again,” Elliott said.

This will help various providers involved with a patient to provide more “integrated” care, she added.

“Your doctor may be able to see important information from your visit to a specialist,” Elliott said. “As we integrate care, the patient will be informed of who sees their health information and provide their choice and consent as it’s needed.”

The minister pledged strict penalties for any health care providers breaking privacy laws or misusing a patient’s information.

With the proper privacy protections, health data from patients can also be used to do “predictive analytics,” which could help doctors better track patients with chronic diseases and catch medical problems before they become more serious.

“As we roll out our strategy, patients will have even more new options,” Elliott said, with technology companies coming out with new innovations in digital health care being invited to propose services.

“This will allow the market to better respond to the needs of our health care system.”