Clinician Change Management

Supporting clinicians with virtual care tools and training.

Overview

Virtual care is here to stay. The pandemic has proven that virtual care is a viable method of care delivery that complements in-person care; both patients and providers want to continue using it even after the pandemic ends.

According to the 2021 National Survey of Canadian Physicians, which was conducted by Infoway and the Canadian Medical Association, 94 per cent of primary care physicians have used virtual care, and more than 70 per cent believe virtual care improves patient access and patient care.

But to optimize the use of virtual care, clinicians need the right tools and training. In partnership with Healthcare Excellence Canada, the Clinician Change Management Project helps ensure that clinicians and other health workers are well-equipped to help transform care — so more people can benefit from equitable, safe and high-quality virtual care.

Virtual Care Toolkit

Virtual care is a necessary and significant part of the health care system enabling more accessible care for patients, while allowing clinicians to deliver care more efficiently. The Clinician Change Virtual Care Toolkit was built in collaboration with clinicians, virtual care experts and patient partners to support clinicians with the tools they need to provide safe, high quality virtual care, with a focus on primary care in community settings.

Share the Toolkit

We’ve created social images, newsletter copy and suggested social media posts below to make it easy for you to share the toolkit.

Female physician at laptop
The toolkit helps to maximise the benefits of virtual care whilst minimising the challenges. It will enhance delivery of care and improve access to care, benefitting both patients and providers.”
— Petawawa Centennial Family Health.

Clinician Change Management Project

Canada Health Infoway and Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) partnered to launch the Clinician Change Management Project aimed at ensuring clinicians have the tools and training they need to care for their patients virtually. This project involved the development of the Clinician Change Virtual Care Toolkit and the launch of the Virtual Care Together Design Collaborative.

The Clinician Change Virtual Care Toolkit focuses on three priority areas identified by clinicians and were validated through interviews, focus groups, social media scans and a survey of more than 200 clinicians and support staff

  1. Appropriateness: Considerations for determining whether virtual care can be used, and which modalities (phone, video, secure messaging or remote patient monitoring) are most appropriate for a particular circumstance;
  2. Use and optimization of virtual care services: Information to help address issues and challenges associated with enabling and delivering virtual care services, including technology, privacy and security considerations; and
  3. Quality and safe virtual care interactions: Resources to enhance the quality and safety of virtual care delivery, including virtual relationship building and conducting physical examinations.

Development of the toolkit was informed by a broad range of stakeholders and subject matter experts, including health care providers and their support staffand the Virtual Care Together Design Collaborative.

The Virtual Care Together Design Collaborative, held from October 2021 to March 2022, brought together 25 teams (which included family health teams, community-based health centres and non-profit organizations) from across Canada. The Design Collaborative allowed teams to support, implement and evaluate virtual care tools and resources and provide feedback to help refine information and resources in the Clinician Change Virtual Care Toolkit.

“The Clinician Change Toolkit helped me assess both my current virtual care practices and the resources needed to enhance skills in virtual care. Several of the resources in the toolkit have been useful for improving the efficiency and organization of the virtual care that our Diabetes Centre offers. We have developed a greater awareness of the factors impacting access and acceptance to virtual care, and we are working to address them.”
— Nova Scotia Health Authority, Diabetes Centres
Male doctor having virtual visit with patient

Patient Digital Health Learning Program

Complementing the Clinician Change Management project, the Patient Digital Health Learning program aims to improve the digital health Learning of patients, families and caregivers by providing resources and education to improve their awareness, understanding and ability to access virtual care. These resources can also be leveraged by care providers to help their patients understand and use virtual care.

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