Inside rural Alberta's shift to virtual ER doctors
- News Article
- Jul 16
- 1 min read
Paula McLaughlin, who has lived in Coronation, Alta., for more than 50 years, says she got severe food poisoning last month. A rush to the east-central Alberta town’s emergency department resulted in a new experience for her: seeing a virtual doctor.
McLaughlin said she was vacationing in northern B.C. when she fell ill.
"I got to the point where I couldn’t even lift my legs," she said.
Due to her other health issues, McLaughlin said she was anxious to return to a familiar hospital and drove back to Alberta.
When she called the emergency room (ER) at the Coronation Hospital and Care Centre, staff informed her no on-site doctor was available and that a virtual physician would treat her.
"I thought, ‘Oh no. Now, what does that mean?’" she recalled.
But the experience was surprisingly positive, McLaughlin said.
An on-screen physician appeared and instructed nursing staff, she said. He watched them check her stomach and McLaughlin said he stayed online “until all my lab work was sent away to see what kind of food poisoning I had."
Virtual emergency physicians have become a routine backup option for Coronation, a community of roughly 900 people that is located about 210 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. Alberta Health Services (AHS) introduced the virtual program there in October.
According to AHS, the virtual emergency physician program remotely uses experienced emergency doctors, allowing local staff to respond to non-life-threatening issues via video.
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