Doctors are at odds with the provincial government over the expansion of primary health care through the 811 service. In fact, the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association feels the government is compromising patient safety.
People can now schedule a virtual appointment with a nurse practitioner for urgent, non-emergency health issues via telephone, text, or video, seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The province’s health minister says the expansion of the 811 HealthLine to an app is not a substitute for the continuity of primary care in a conventional clinic setting.
You can read the NLMA’s letter to health Minister John Haggie here.
About one in five people in this province are without a family doctor and Lynette Powell, president-elect of the NLMA, says the changes will do nothing to address the shortage.
She had a call from a patient yesterday who requested a certain medication, but she knew right away that the patient could not take it because of their medical history. Powell says that’s the type of care people need and deserve.
Health Minister John Haggie doesn’t buy that. He says Fonemed will be fully integrated into the medical system. He says they have access to diagnostic tests, Healthy NL, Medi-tech, and are completely integrated from the start.
