Will virtual doctor appointments continue when the COVID-19 pandemic is over?

At the height of the pandemic, doctors were told to shift their approach to virtual care, performing basic appointments over the phone or in a video call. There were glitches and delays—but two years later and many offices have incorporated the tool into their practices.

And according to a survey released in the summer of 2021, virtual care may be here to stay.

About 70 per cent of doctors who participated in a Canadian Medical Association survey said they were doing virtual appointments and were satisfied with the results.

However, while some physicians have said that virtual care allows for more accessible routine appointments, others have acknowledged that a phone call may not be enough for some patients. In October of last year, Ontario’s top health officials wrote a letter urging doctors to start seeing patients in-person again.

In this week’s episode of Life Unmasked, the team speaks with Dr. Adam Kassam, the president of the Ontario Medical Association, to find out how physicians were able to make the transition to virtual care, what it is best used for and what the challenges could be in the future.

The team also speaks with Daniel Warner, the CEO and co-founder of KixCare, a company that launched last summer and tailored its approach to pediatric healthcare.

Life Unmasked airs first on the iHeart app every Tuesday morning before becoming available on other streaming platforms. If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for an episode, please email [e-mail].