Filling the coverage gap: connecting physicians through a digital locum platform
Room: TBA
Finding locum coverage can be one of the most time-consuming and frustrating challenges in clinical practice. Many physicians still rely on personal networks, email lists, and manual outreach to secure temporary coverage—creating barriers that contribute to burnout, practice instability, and inequitable access to support.
This session introduces LOCVM, an innovative physician-designed digital platform that streamlines locum coordination through intelligent matching technology. Attendees will see how digital workforce solutions can reduce administrative burden, improve access to coverage opportunities, and help practices maintain continuity of care. Through a live demonstration and real-world implementation insights, participants will explore how technology can simplify a longstanding challenge in primary and specialty care.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe the administrative and coordination challenges associated with arranging locum coverage.
- Identify how digital matching platforms can streamline the process of securing temporary physician coverage and improve access to locum opportunities.
- Apply a practical framework for evaluating digital workforce coordination tools, including considerations of usability, equity, feasibility, and integration into existing practice workflows.
Speakers:
- Joyce Cheung, MD, Medical Advisor, LOCVM, and Angelique Bernabe, MD, Chief Medical Officer, LOCVM
- Angelique Bernabe, MD, Chief Medical Officer, LOCVM
Presenter Bio:
Joyce Cheung, MD
Dr. Cheung is a family and palliative care physician with over a decade of practice in North West Toronto and a track record of clinical, educational, and systems leadership. She has held roles as Interim Collaborative Program Director for Family Medicine at TMU and Site Chief of Family and Community Medicine at Etobicoke General Hospital. Her work with the Central West Ontario Health Team includes leading the award-winning CARE Program for frail older adults. Provincially, she serves as Chair of the Palliative Medicine Section at the Ontario Medical Association and as an executive in District 11. As Chief Medical Officer of LOCVM, she brings frontline clinical expertise to a physician-designed platform modernizing how doctors connect with locum opportunities and support workforce sustainability.
Angelique Bernabe, MD
Dr. Bernabé is a PhD-trained economist and Co-Founder and Business Development Lead at LOCVM. She brings expertise in labour economics, health systems innovation, and governance, applying data-driven and equity-centred approaches to understanding and addressing workforce challenges in health care. Her research and applied work focuses on labour market dynamics, systems change, and the use of technology to improve access and coordination in health systems. In this program of research, Dr. Bernabé will co-lead methodological development with particular responsibility for ensuring analytic rigour, alignment with implementation science frameworks, and integration of labour economic perspectives across all study phases.
Date
- Oct 02 2026
Time
- 11:10 am - 11:55 am
