Telehealth physician to fill in for emergency room doctor in Dawson Creek during 10-day pilot project

AB.C. hospital ishoping an online doctor service calledRUDi will be the addition it needs to support patients when staff is short.

For ten night shifts, one emergency department physician at Dawson Creek and District Hospital will be replaced by RUDi(short forRural Urgent Doctor in-aid) which links health-care providers like nurses to on-call doctors located elsewhere in the province via video calls.Nurses willperform patient examinations while consulting with the doctor.

A key aim is todecrease the need for transfers to larger hospitals.

RUDi was initially tested at the Dawson Creekhospital in May with positive results, saidNorthern Health spokesperson, Eryn Collins.

"Implementation of this virtual option for coverage allows us to provide physician support and maintain continuity of care when we might otherwise need to divert patients to another facility," wrote Collins in a statement. "The program leverages technology and the provincial network of physicians to provide support to care staff and patients, so there's less disruption during periods when physician resources are limited."

Dr. Brydon Blacklaws, whois overseeingthepilot program,said it will definitely increase theworkload fornurses, but says they are up to the task.

"It is more work for the nurses to have the doctor virtually. They have to spend a fair bit of time with us," said Blacklaws.

Blacklaws said virtual consultations arenot ideal,but are better than having to transfer patients or ask them to return for a simple procedure the next day. He added that staff will continue to transfer patients who need to see a doctor in personor are critically ill.

Last September, the provincial government announced it would hire approximately 470 health care professionals to support rural areas.

As of May2018, there were 760,000 British Columbians without family doctors or about17 per cent of the population.At the time, the provincial government announced plans to create networks of health-care professionalsfor specific in-need regions. These interdisciplinary teams would includefamily doctors, dietitians, and other medical professionals.

Blacklawsand Collins both say virtual consultationswon't reduce the urgency torecruitand keepdoctors in remote areas.

"We're grateful for the virtual support while our efforts to recruit physicians to communities are ongoing," wroteCollins.