You know, virtual care is double-edged. It's wonderful, because it gives access to patients in the comfort of their home. That being said, not everybody has access to technology, such as in rural parts of northern Ontario. I spoke to a pharmacist who said he had to set up a kiosk in his pharmacy to help his patients download their QR code to show that they were immunized.
There's a whole group of patients and a demographic that virtual care may not be the right method for, but it's a multimodal system. In some cases, access to virtual care would be a phenomenal asset to individuals, especially if you wanted to do a medication review or to consult on a drug-related question or query. I think there are a lot of opportunities there. Technology can be an enabler, but it is not the solution for everybody. Knowing that 95% of the population lives within five kilometres of a pharmacy, you have access points already in place.
Let's rethink how we leverage and utilize our existing workforce so that we can care for Canadians the way we know how and want to.