Facilitating the virtual care appointment
Setting up a virtual care appointment:
Upon triage of the referral, the Virtual Care Coordinator will arrange an appointment and contact the patient to gather additional health information. Based on the patient’s residential address and provincial system, the Virtual Care Coordinator identifies whether the patient can benefit from a virtual home visit or attend the nearest virtual care hub. The Virtual Care Coordinator will also ensure the arrangement of clinical follow-up as needed.
Follow-up:
The Virtual Care Coordinator will confirm with the Consultant about any testing and follow-up for the patient prior to concluding the session and will ensure the execution of the plan of care. The Virtual Care Coordinator communicates a summary of the plan of care via an email to the patient. This email will include the outcome of the consultation (i.e. follow-up appointment, additional tests, prescriptions, referrals).
Documentation and Reporting:
Consultations should be documented as part of a patient record, following the same guidelines and standards as traditional face to face patient visits. The Virtual Care Coordinator’s assessment is filed in patients’ Electronic Medical Records (EMR) alongside consultation notes. The Virtual Care Coordinator assessment (Appendix A) includes vital signs assessment, basic skin assessment, abdominal assessment, weight and medication record.
After the Consultation:
The Virtual Care Coordinator provides the patient with a brief written summary of their plan of care. They also follow up with patients to help coordinate elements of their care plans, such as arranging lab tests, diagnostic imaging, and referrals to other health related services.