Downtown hospital launches virtual ER appointments as COVID-19 hospitalizations increase

Physical distancing and stay-at-home orders are forcing unprecedented change and innovation in public medicine that experts say will revolutionize how we access care. (Photo by bongkarn thanyakij from Pexels)

TORONTO — Another Toronto hospital is offering virtual emergency department appointments amid a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations across the province.

Starting today, St. Michael’s Hospital is offering virtual ER visits for the next six months.

“Our emergency department is safe and still available for walk-in visits, but this is also a safe and private way for patients to connect with health care providers that reduces the need for travel to and within the hospital,” a spokesperson for the hospital said in an email on Thursday.

Virtual visits are available in thirty-minute slots from Monday to Friday between 2 and 9 p.m. Bookings open at noon each day and the appointments are available on a first come, first-served basis.

Patients can choose to speak to a doctor either by phone or video.

Individuals who need immediate medical care are urged to visit the hospital’s emergency department.

St.Michael’s Hospital is the second Toronto-area medical institution to launch virtual emergency department bookings after Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre implemented it last week.

The virtual appointments come as the province continues to grapple with a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations amid a second wave of the virus.

On Thursday, the province logged a record 1,983 new infections and 35 more deaths.

There are currently 829 people receiving treatment for the disease in Ontario hospitals, up from 666 at this point last week. Of those hospitalized, 228 are in intensive care units.

Provincial health officials also released new modelling data on Thursday which suggests there will be more than 200 COVID-19 patients in ICUs across Ontario for the next month, based on a best case scenario of one per cent growth in new infections.

The worst case scenario, which is based on a five per cent growth rate, points to more than 500 COVID-19 patients in the ICU between now and early January.