As Canada reopens and people go back to gyms, restaurants, and stores, the reopening of medical services is at the top of the priority list for severely affected provinces. Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan place essential and personal care services at step 2 of their reopening roadmap once 70% of adults have received their first dose of the vaccine and 20% have been fully vaccinated.
Although online healthcare services are convenient for doctors and clinics due to time and cost efficiency, patients generally prefer to access healthcare inperson with their physician. Patients are not satisfied with virtual health care and would rather prefer in-person consultations by their doctors. This has caused a large population of patients to delay their need for health care. In a survey conducted by Johnson & Johnson, 68% of the individuals surveyed said that they or someone in their household had delayed healthcare during the pandemic. Furthermore, JJ’s internal patient tracker shows that patients were 20% more likely to proceed with surgery or other medical procedures if they received in-person consultation from their doctors.
Some tips for medical offices to consider:
- As clinics prepare to reopen, they have to follow a guideline set by the provincial chief medical officer.
- Clinics must determine whether the provision of a service is in the best interest of each individual patient, assess clinic capacity for service delivery, and take into account the level of risk and local prevalence of the virus.
- Implement a kiosk registration to protect staff and patients from spreading COVID. With flu season coming up in September/October, being proactive here may ease pressures on the clinic.
Sources: Canadian Medical Association, CBC News, Canadian Physiotherapy Association, Maclean’s, Jonson & Johnson, Ontario Canada
