VirtualCareNS exceeds Yarmouth resident’s expectations
Just one month since the launch of VirtualCareNS, patients are already noting a positive impact on the way they access care.
Ian Everett is a Yarmouth resident who has been on Nova Scotia Health’s Need a Family Practice Registry for two years.
Ian was invited to join the VirtualCareNS pilot program in May and decided to try the service in early June.
Individuals on the registry are being contacted by Nova Scotia Health in chronological order, based on when they added their names to the list.
“The process was wonderful and I was shocked by the speed and efficiency,” recalled Ian. “It only took about 30 minutes from the time it took me to submit a request through the app, to the physician reviewing my request, to him sending me a message, and then we spent 15 minutes on the phone.”
Ian complimented the services’ ability to optimize both the patient and physicians’ time.
Patients using the service can have a meaningful conversation with a physician and receive a prescription and necessary referrals using the same tool.
“I was even able to send my prescription to my preferred pharmacy for me to pick up later - all through the app!” exclaimed Ian.
Ian was also able to access a transcription of the conversation with the physician so that a copy could be saved and referred back to as needed.
“I could not have asked for a better process or experience. This exceeded my expectations!”
VirtualCareNS is currently being piloted in Middleton, New Glasgow, Truro, and Yarmouth. The program will be expanded to more communities in the Northern and Western zones in the coming months and is also being evaluated for expansion across the province.
So far, 11,000 people have been contacted to register for the pilot program.
