N.W.T. medical group warns virtual care provided by physicians outside the territory could have negative consequences for patients

N.W.T.’s health minister introduced Bill 40 in 2021 to allow medical practitioners licensed elsewhere in Canada to provide virtual care to NWT residents from beyond the territory. The change would let territorial physicians make referrals to healthcare practitioners elsewhere, but the NWT Medical Association says the bill’s potentially harmful to the quality and cultural safety of patient care, adding it would worsen healthcare inequity in the NWT and increase costs to the territory’s healthcare system with no benefit. The association warns those physicians won’t be able to order lab or diagnostic imaging tests or access N.W.T.’s EMRs. It says this will create risks as the visits wouldn’t be recorded, making recourse difficult for patients if something goes wrong and preventing local physicians from knowing what care was provided. According to the territory, Bill 40 would create a new category of registration and licensing for physicians practising virtual care, allowing a register of physicians to be posted online.
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