Virtual Care

The temporary Virtual Care Fee Codes remain in place following the March 14, 2022 lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions in the province. The NLMA and the Department of Health and Community Services are committed to finalizing a permanent set of virtual care fee codes in 2023.

In September 2022, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information (NLCHI) issued an RFP for virtual emergency care services at rural Category B sites and Virtual Primary Care for unattached patients.  The NLMA has engaged with NLCHI and the Department of Health on the RFP and will inform members of the outcome of the RFP.

Virtual Care Toolkit

updated April 30, 2020

A toolkit for physicians on using virtual care

This toolkit is provided as helpful advice for physicians but is not a set of rules or requirements. The NLMA toolkit has been adapted from Doctors of BC, and has content for NL physicians to support planning for treating patients remotely, including:

  • Workflow (for example, obtaining patient contact information and patient consent)
  • Equipment essentials and testing
  • Virtual care tools for physicians
  • Patient communication
  • Privacy and security safeguards
  • Frequently asked questions

Virtual Care NL 

  • The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information’s (NLCHI) CISCO Jabber platform is recommended for video conferencing by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. 
  • There are a number of options available for virtual care solutions. To learn more, visit the Information for Providers section of the NLCHI Virtual Care website.
  • You may also reach out via email to [email protected].

Virtual Care using eDOCSNL EMR 

Resources


Canadian Medical Association Virtual Care Resources

Patient Guides to Virtual Care

  • An NLMA guide to virtual care for patients is also available. This document answers frequently asked questions on virtual care and can be shared with your patients. This document has also been adapted from Doctors of BC.

Virtual Care Webinar for Specialists and Family Physicians

This provincial webinar session on getting started with virtual care was hosted by the NLMA and FPRP on March 31. We were joined by physicians who have built virtual care into their regular practice, including Dr. Kris Luscombe, a Psychiatrist in Grand Falls-Windsor and Drs. Brad Bahler and Tobias Gelber, Family Physicians in Alberta. The session also included an overview of the Pandemic Virtual Care Assessment fee code. The Webinar has been recorded and is now available below.

Webinar video: