But although the pandemic accelerated the adoption and development of virtual care in a time of need, its benefits and advantages for both patients and physicians are still being realized today and technological advancements continue to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
At Rocket Doctor, we have always strongly believed in the potential of virtual care, and have conducted recent research that supports its effectiveness in improving both access and outcomes. In this blog, we explore how virtual care contributes to a more modern and efficient healthcare system.
Virtual care – Breaking Geographical Barriers
Rural and remote communities especially, continue to face ongoing challenges in accessing medical care altogether. With long travel distances to clinics and the dwindling numbers of family doctors, one of the key benefits of virtual care is its ability to break geographical barriers where a patient’s location becomes irrelevant.
Nowadays, patients who struggle to access a brick and mortar clinic due to long distances or mobility issues, can access care with just a smartphone and an internet connection. Our study in Ontario of nearly 3000 patients showed that 52% of those who received virtual care visits on the Rocket Doctor platform did not have a family physician, and 36% were using MDs on the RD platform as their family doctor, entirely virtually. A recent postal code analysis in British Columbia found that 50% of patients from the province that used Rocket Doctor were from nearly 400 towns and cities across rural regions, with the remainder from Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.
Virtual care – Effective and Efficient
While virtual care has been proven effective and efficient for many conditions, it is not suitable for all. Rocket Doctor focuses on effectively triaging patients for virtual care, and matching them to the provider who is right for them. Our research at has shown that 94% of patients seen virtually were managed virtually, without the need for an in-person visit afterward. Physicians were able to resolve or provide follow-up on 94% of encounters, with only 1% of patients referred to the emergency department.
Another key advantage to virtual care services is its efficiency. According to our studies, patients were able to book appointments on the same day or next day 74% of the time compared to 41% of the time for typical primary care clinics as reported by Health Quality Ontario metrics.
Virtual care – The Future of Healthcare
We believe that virtual care has a firm place in the future of healthcare and can support systems across the globe. Rocket Doctor’s unique support system, advanced medical devices, and AI-fuelled software provides doctors with the tools and resources they need to run their own successful, care-focused virtual practices. Like a Shopify for doctors, we do not employ physicians or put them under the thumb of corporate medicine, rather we empower them with the tools and systems they need to truly practice medicine.
Since our launch 3 years ago, we have coordinated a system of care with over 400 MDs and 270,000 visits.
Although virtual care does have limitations, we are constantly working to address them by integrating advanced technologies such as remote patient monitoring devices, AI-powered software and strong clinical foundations. These technologies and systems allow healthcare providers to monitor and manage patients’ health remotely, providing more personalized and proactive care in a virtual environment.
At Rocket Doctor, we believe that virtual care integrated into the public system is the future of healthcare, and we will continue to work towards creating a more modern and efficient healthcare system that can benefit all Canadians.
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