In July 2020, I wrote a post on this blog to guide family doctors on how to ramp up in-person visits in their practices. A year later, the topic is still timely although the context is different: we are now fifteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a large proportion of the population is vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 . How should primary care operate going forward?
Family medicine practices have been open and busy during the pandemic…the vast majority of practices have continued to see patients in-person. Most are taking a virtual-first approach—seeing patients virtually first and then asking patients to come in-person if needed.
…
So how should primary care practices balance in-person and virtual visits going forward to deliver care that is timely, effective, patient-centred, and equitable but that also keeps patients and staff safe?
It’s time to move away from a virtual-first approach towards a patient-directed approach. In a virtual first-approach, clinicians are the first judge on what mode of care is appropriate. In a patient-directed approach, patients are the first judge of appropriateness. A patient-directed approach would support more equitable and efficient care.
Read the full article in the CMAJ Blogs
Dr Tara Kiran is a family physician at the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team and the Fidani Chair of Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto.
News articles do not necessarily represent the views of BC Family Doctors. We share news written by or about family physicians to keep our members up to date on topics impacting our professional lives.