Why Develop Guidance for the Clinically Appropriate Use of Virtual Care in Primary Care?

Through the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic clinical service delivery rapidly transitioned from in-person to virtual methods (including by telephone). As of the end of May 2022, approximately 35% of all primary care visits billed to OHIP continued to be delivered virtually. Virtual care was initially used to minimize in-person interaction. There continues to be a need to determine how best to integrate virtual care methods and tools into clinical practice. The development of Guidance – Clinically Appropriate Use of Virtual Care initiative is intended to provide the foundation to advance this objective.

Speakers:

• Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya MD, PhD, Co-Chair, Primary Care Expert Panel, Guidance for the Appropriate Use of Virtual Care in Primary Care
• Dr. David M. Kaplan MD, MSc, CCFP, FCFP, Co-Chair, Primary Care Expert Panel, Guidance for the Appropriate Use of Virtual Care in Primary Care

Speaker Bios:

Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya

Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya MD, PhD is the Frigon Blau Chair in Family Medicine Research at Women’s College Hospital, and director of the Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care. He is the lead for the Centre for Digital Health Evaluation funded by the Ministry of Health of Ontario. He practices family medicine and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is national co-chair of the Primary and Integrated Health Care Innovation Network and has been a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy at the Commonwealth Fund in New York City and a Takemi Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.

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David M. Kaplan

David M. Kaplan MD, MSc, CCFP, FCFP is the Vice President, Quality at Ontario Health (Clinical Institutes and Quality Programs). Previously, he was the Chief, Clinical Quality and Primary Care Quality Lead at Health Quality Ontario.

Dr. Kaplan is an academic family physician at North York General Hospital, where he serves as the Deputy Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee. He is an associate professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine and Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. He completed his graduate training in Health Policy and Bioethics in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is a fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

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