Virtual care in Ontario community health centres: a cross-sectional study to understand changes in care delivery.
BJGP Open
; 6(3)2022 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2143829
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
There has been a large-scale adoption of virtual delivery of primary care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.AIM:
In this descriptive study, an equity lens is used to explore the impact of transitioning to greater use of virtual care in community health centres (CHCs) across Ontario, Canada. DESIGN &SETTING:
A cross-sectional survey was administered and electronic medical record (EMR) data were extracted from 36 CHCs.METHOD:
The survey captured CHCs' experiences with the increased adoption of virtual care. A longitudinal analysis of the EMR data was conducted to evaluate changes in health service delivery. EMR data were extracted monthly for a period of time before the pandemic (April 2019-February 2020) and during (April 2020-February 2021).RESULTS:
In comparison with the pre-pandemic period, CHCs experienced a moderate decline in visits made (11%), patients seen (9%), issues addressed (9%), and services provided (15%). During the pandemic period, an average of 54% of visits were conducted virtually, with telephone as the leading virtual modality (96%). Drops in service types ranged from 28%-82%. The distribution of virtual modalities varied according to the provider type. Access to in-person and virtual care did not vary across patient characteristics.CONCLUSION:
The results demonstrate a large shift towards virtual delivery while maintaining in-person care. No meaningful differences were found in virtual versus in-person care related to patient characteristics or rurality of centres. Future studies are needed to explore how to best select the appropriate modality for patients and service types.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bjgpo.2021.0239
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