We’re keeping our finger on the pulse of virtual health visits in B.C!
In the past few years, more and more British Columbians have been connecting with their health-care providers virtually. A recent survey of patients and health-care providers who use Zoom for Healthcare for virtual health visits received over 1100 responses. The survey tells us what is important to users, and what we can improve on.
How did patients and health-care providers rate their experience? Keep reading for feedback from users across the province.
1) Patients gave Zoom an overall rating of 96 per cent, and agreed it is easy to use, and the video and audio quality is good.
2) Patients saved an estimated total of 17,412 kilometres of travel by having virtual health visits. That’s equivalent to driving from Haida Gwaii to St. John’s, Newfoundland and back!
3) 90 per cent of patients felt their privacy and security was protected during their virtual health visit.
4) 85 per cent will choose a virtual health visit over an in-person visit in the future.
5) Providers gave Zoom for Healthcare an overall rating of 86 per cent, and agreed it is easy to use, and the video and audio quality is good.
6) From 2020 to 2021, providers gave a significantly higher rating to the reduced transition time between patients between virtual health visits.
7) They gave higher marks for their ability to provide effective care virtually.
8) 63 per cent of support staff respondents said they would recommend Zoom again, and 32 per cent said they would definitely recommend it.
9) 65 per cent strongly agreed that Zoom for Healthcare is easy to use.
10) Unfortunately, some survey respondents experienced challenges with virtual health visits.
See more feedback on the full patient infographic and the full provider infographic.
“Virtual health has helped me improve my knowledge for self-led care, and my ability to access specialists/health-care providers. It has lessened the pain consequences of travelling to more nearby appointments. It has greatly improved my quality of life.”
“In my appointment, there were multiple doctors attending from multiple locations. My diagnostics were online and they could see my tests and prescriptions from multiple cities in the interior of B.C. The doctors were from the Lower Mainland, and I was hundreds of kilometres away. It was unbelievable that we could meet from different areas across the province and have access to up-to-date diagnostics -- all in real time. They even administrated several visual tests via the camera online. I am truly amazed!”
“I think this is a useful and necessary tool, but I also think that we shouldn't rely on it. There's much to be said for in-person meetings and socialization. A doctor can not accurately assess the health of a person when they don't actually see the human they are treating.”
“Virtual health visits have increased our ability to connect with clients living in rural and remote communities, as well as with patients who do not have flexible work schedules. They can have their appointments from home (or somewhere else private) instead of traveling to a hospital to access Video Conferencing or taking hours off of work to come in person. We have significantly fewer no-shows for this reason, and engagement with care is excellent. We are so grateful for this service, and this gratitude is echoed by our patients, including those who felt a bit nervous or not technologically savvy at first.”
“It cuts down travel time for our clients, makes us accessible if their child has the sniffles (don't need to reschedule) and I feel increases parent involvement. It also creates the opportunity to incorporate a lot of different mediums in therapy sessions, whether I use a document camera to share my materials, use online sources such as lessonpix or Boomcards, or incorporate online songs/stories using YouTube, as well as greenscreen.”
“Although in-person health visits are optimal, virtual health visits can be arranged quickly, cuts down the travel time, can be accessed from all over the Province, and in some cases provides the patient an opportunity to attend should they have to work or are stuck at home. Outreach is far more accessible in terms of resources and time.”
