ICES finds virtual care works best when patients see their own family doctor

A study shows compared to patients who had a virtual visit with their own family doctor, those who received virtual care from a doctor outside of their family care team were 66% more likely to visit the ER within seven days. Research also shows patients receiving virtual care outside of an existing family doctor-patient relationship were 25% more likely to have an in-person visit and 88% more likely to have another virtual visit within seven days. More than 6.5 million people in Canada don’t have a family physician and virtual care is believed to be an important access point for patients.