Because your voice matters.

Patient Story, Using Virtual Health for Medical Appointments During COVID-19

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Open to Provincial Region, Patient partners across the province

Last updated

Providers and patients have worked hard and quickly to use technology for health care appointments, helping keep BC citizens safe and healthy. The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) wants to help share your story of how you benefited from virtual health during COVID-19.

Open to: Patient partners across the province

Lead Organization or Department

Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), Office of Virtual Health

Aim

These stories of virtual health use will hopefully: • Give confidence to patients, family members and providers who may be nervous about using technology for appointments • Reduce potential anxiety of having to go to a hospital or clinic, and • Inspire pride across BC Health Authorities for their contribution to keeping citizens safe during the pandemic

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.

Eligibility

Open to patient partners across the province who: • Have attended a virtual health appointment during the COVID-19 pandemic • Are comfortable telling their story that will be shared with the public and possibly as a news release • Are comfortable sharing their photo for an article or news release (for which a PHSA consent form will need to be signed)

Logistics

• Number of vacancies: 6 • Date and Time: We hope to gather stories for a news release by June 8, 2020, but would receive them up until the end of June, 2020 • Location: Stories can be shared via a telephone interview • Commitment: One time only

Reimbursement

No costs are anticipated.

Background

British Columbians have been embracing technology to continue delivering and receiving care at a time when they’ve been asked to stay home to help flatten the curve of COVID-19. The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), Virtual Care team hopes to share stories about how: • Health care providers and clinicians across BC adapted quickly to using virtual health to deliver care to their patients • Patients benefited from using virtual health to receive care and stay well PHSA has a unique role in BC's health authority system: to ensure that BC residents have access to a coordinated provincial network of high-quality specialized health-care services. PHSA programs provide care and services through specialized hospitals and centres across B.C. such as BC Children's Hospital and BC Cancer. We are also responsible for specialized health services, which are delivered across the province in collaboration with regional health authorities, such as cardiac, trauma, perinatal and stroke services. Through BC Emergency Health Services, PHSA oversees the BC Ambulance Service and Patient Transfer Services.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Cassy Mitchell
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement
250.279.0717
cmitchell@bcpsqc.ca

From Our Community

Karla Warkotsch

Patient Experience Consultant – Interior Health

Karla Warkotsch

The question I like to ask health care employees is ‘Who is this for?’ and ‘Do we have the right people at the table?’ As a health care employee, I see how easy it is to fall into doing for, rather than doing with patients. The voices of the patient, family and caregiver are essential to ensure the patient is central to the direction and focus of the work being done.

Members of the BCPSQC pose for a team photo at the Quality Forum 2019.

Health Quality BC administers the Patient Voices Network. Using evidence-informed strategies, the Council shifts culture, improves clinical practice and advances person- and family-centred care to support high-quality care for every person in our province.