A Newfoundland doctor is offering up a virtual solution to what the NLMA says is a shortage of doctors in the province.

Dr. Todd Young has been offering services through his Medicuro virtual clinic for just over a year.

He says the clinic offers an alternative for patients who require relatively routine doctor access for simple things like prescription refills and episodic illnesses.

Dr. Young says his is one of a number of virtual clinics offered across the country, with some provinces exploring the possibilities to a greater extent. He says BC and Ontario are running with virtual clinics and are funding it through the public insurer.

That’s something he’d like to see done local as well as a way address wait times and access to family doctors.

He says only last night a patient who suffers with gout reached out to him through Medicuro. They were told at the hospital emergency department that it would be several hours before they’d be seen, but they contact him and had a prescription for their medication within minutes.