Virtual care refers to appointments with your physician or nurse practitioner that do not occur in person. Virtual care became a publicly funded service at the start of the pandemic and is now quite common. Depending on the nature of your visit, virtual care may be appropriate.

Virtual care appointments have important limitations. Depending on the nature of your visit, it may be necessary to schedule you for an in person appointment before a treatment plan can be initiated.

Virtual care works well to follow up on treatment results, to discuss mental health conditions, or as an alternative to an in -person appointment if you have infectious symptoms at the time of your appointment.

Virtual care appointments may be offered by phone, video, or in some cases, secure messaging. If you are offered a virtual care appointment, it is important that you ensure you are able to focus on the conversation and you are in a private location.