Patient Care in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Use of Virtual Care

Virtual Care, using video conferencing technology to connect with patients, has become critical in providing continuing care for patients in the contemporary COVID-19 pandemic Virtual care is now adopted by healthcare providers across the spectrum, including physicians, residents, nurse practitioners, nurses, and allied health Virtual care is novel and nuanced when compared to in-person care Most of the health care providers that are delivering or expected to deliver virtual care have little to no prior experience The nuances with virtual care involve regulatory standards, platforms, technology and troubleshooting, patient selection, etiquette, and workflow that all comprise critical points to the provision of healthcare It is important that high quality, equitable, and professional virtual care is delivered consistently to give patients the trust they need to continue following up in these trying times We have adopted virtual care in our clinical practice for over two years now In partnership with Canada Health Infoway, we have put together a primer for virtual care that can serve as a guide for any health care provider in Canada and globally, with the goal of providing seamless transitions between in-person and virtual care