The Shared Care Virtual Care project has developed and promoted videoconferencing for rural patient care, and remote consultation access to specialists through secure messaging.
 

Key Project Accomplishments:

• Increased opportunities for patients to access specialist services by video conferencing with eight specialists engaged.
• The KB has led the implementation of pre-surgical screening telehealth clinics now being adopted in Vernon and Kelowna.
• The region is one of the first in BC to create in-clinic access for video conferencing from primary care clinics.
• Another first in BC is the link between rural emergency departments and the ICU team in Trail.
• Improving communication with specialists to provide access for remote consultations with the introduction of secure MicrobloggingMD (MBMD) messaging to the KB. The MBMD application is successfully improving physician communication, informing patient care treatment plans and improving physicians’ ability to care for patients. It's currently being used by a variety of practitioners, including GPs, SPs, nurses, and allied health providers Watch these videos to learn more!
• KB Division has been collaborating with three other Divisions of Family Practice in Interior BC to share learnings and spread the use of secure messaging for remote consultations. As part of this collaboration the team is on the Connected Medicine National Collaborative through the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement.

Project News:

KB Virtual ICU Project Featured in National Publication

Digital Health Canada’s ‘Virtual Care in Canada: Snapshots of Innovative Virtual Care’ showcases virtual care success across Canada. The publication, released November 2019, features 10 case studies highlighting innovative projects from coast to coast, including the Kootenay Boundary’s own Virtual ICU project!

Check out the Kootenay Boundary Virtual ICU Case Study Here >>

Check out the complete Virtual Care in Canada publication >>

Contact:

For more information on virtual care, contact Mona Mattei mmattei@divisionsbc.ca. For a 1-1 face to face (or virtual) tutorial session on the MBMD messaging App, contact Paul Edney pedney@divisionsbc.ca.