Can you do 1.5 million virtual appointments a year? British Columbia may have a contract for you

A new approach underway to improve access to primary care in British Columbia is raising concerns among doctors and public health advocates, who fear the move may disadvantage family physicians while opening the door to the “corporatization” of healthcare.CTV News recently reported the B.C. government has put out a call for applications for a service contract to provide up to 1.5 million virtual appointments a year for patients in the province, starting on April 1, 2024.The sheer volume of appointments specified in the service contract—which set a minimum of 150,000 per year—would likely be achievable only by large healthcare providers and corporations.“This money could've been used in a very different way,” said patient and public health-care advocate Camille Currie, co-founder of BC Healthcare Matters. “It could help bolster our community practices versus now how many millions of dollars—perhaps billions of dollars, I don't know—will be funnelled into corporations, instead of the clinics that are struggling.”Read: Lack of B.C. transplant surgeons means donated kidneys are sent elsewhere: doctorsA number of physicians—who asked not to be identified because of fear of reprisal—described the province’s latest move as a surprise strategy outside the usual bounds of negotiation and policymaking. They also observed that such a service contract would shift healthcare delivery towards a corporate-based model and add unnecessary bureaucracy while centralizing control with the province’s health ministry.The application package, a copy of which was obtained and partially displayed online by CTV News, stated the service contract was meant to “add additional dedicated access to episodic virtual primary care services coordinated at a provincial level in support of the province’s primary care strategy.” Physical assessments or exams would need to be referred to a clinic or primary care practice with a family doctor or nurse practitioner registered and accredited to practise in B.C.While the service contract would allow the chosen provider to schedule as many as 1.5 million appointments a year, by comparison family physicians have a cap on the number of appointments they can book per day. There’s also a limit to how many unattached patients they can see.Read: Doctors at Surrey, B.C. say staff shortages forcing ER docs to work ‘well outside their scope of practice’One of the doctors who spoke anonymously pointed out that virtual appointments tend to take less time and are much more profitable than in-person care. Currie said the service contract currently out for applications may not even lead to improved access to care for patients, in large part because it will likely involve a middle man profiting in a health system that could become even more complicated.In an email statement, the Ministry of Health said the new service will “help people get access to healthcare services they need when they need it, and help relieve stress on emergency departments, where we know people turn to if they don’t have after hours access to a primary care provider, even if they don’t require emergency care.”The ministry also said while the province continues to recruit more family doctors and nurse practitioners, there is a need to “expand short term solutions to complement these long term efforts, because people need these services here and now.”Read: Injectable HIV drug less accessible to patients in B.C. than other provinces: doctor

Can you do 1.5 million virtual appointments a year? British Columbia may have a contract for you

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