High-tech walk-in docs take the distance out of medicine

Two new walk-in clinics in Greater Sudbury are taking a high-tech approach to providing patient care.

The first Good Doctors clinic opened on Nov. 16, 2015, at 1984 Regent St., and a second followed Jan. 18 at 2956 Highway 69 N, in Val Caron.

What sets the Good Doctors clinics apart from other walk-in clinics in the region is their reliance on the Ontario Telemedicine Network, a video chat network similar to Skype.

There are six physicians affiliated with the clinics, but five are based in the Greater Toronto Area, and the sixth is from Windsor.

The physicians are never physically in Sudbury, but patients can connect with them through a secure video chat that adheres to the Ontario’s Personal Health Information Act and Canada’s Person Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, to protect their privacy.

The clinics employ three registered practical nurses, and one international medical graduate – a foreign-trained doctor working to complete her local certification – who tend to the patients and do basic check-ups before they connect with the physicians.

Exam rooms are fitted with computers and webcams that can detect patients' faces, or be remotely controlled by the nurses or doctors.

When examining patients, the nurses can use digital instruments – including stethoscopes and otoscopes – that directly relay the sound of a patient's heartbeat, for example, to the doctor located hundreds of kilometres away.

Good Doctors director Leo Liao said patient feedback has been positive so far.

“There's always a dedicated doctor and a back-up doctor,” he said.

While Good Doctors' six physicians have their own practices in their hometowns, they take turns setting time aside to meet with patients in Sudbury through the Ontario Telemedicine Network.

One advantage with the system, said Liao, is that when there's a surge in patients, it's relatively easy for another doctor to see patients in between their own scheduled appointments in the GTA or Windsor.

Liao said the system also helps address Sudbury's doctor shortage.

Liao said the long-term plan is to eventually offer short-term clinics in smaller communities that have fewer doctors.

A nurse, for example, could set up the Ontario Telemedicine Network system in a First Nations community for a couple days a week.

If there's enough demand, Liao said Good Doctors could open more clinics in other parts of Greater Sudbury.