The NL Medical Association says the use of Teladoc, a virtual medical service, is accelerating in Newfoundland and Labrador, and that’s of serious concern.
The NLMA says the province’s growing reliance on private virtual care is a symptom of an ongoing doctor shortage.
Association President Dr. David Metcalfe says virtual care was “never intended” to replace a patient’s access to a family physician or become a permanent substitute for emergency care.
Instead, three years after the program was first introduced, more communities are depending on the virtual platform to keep emergency departments open.
Metcalfe says that’s not a sign of success and it’s not the standard patients should expect in a modern health care system.
The NLMA has been calling for the release of a comprehensive physician health human resource plan since 2018 which includes targets for the number and distribution of needed physicians across the province.
