Expert Physician Advisor Delivers Insightful Lecture on Navigating the World of Virtual Care

The landscape of healthcare is rapidly evolving, and virtual care is becoming an integral part of modern medical practice. Dr. Shirley Lee, a renowned physician advisor at the Canadian Medical Protective Association, recently delivered a captivating lecture on the medicolegal considerations for virtual care and hallway consults. Hosted by Virtual Hallway in a hybrid format, both in person and online, the session sparked engaging discussions and raised thought-provoking questions.

Watch our 1 min Hallway Pearl summary of the lecture

Dr. Lee highlighted several key points during her talk:

1. The importance of obtaining verbal and explicit consent when conducting virtual care, ensuring that potential privacy risks and scope of practice issues are addressed and documented.
2. Acknowledging the limitations of technology, such as the inferiority of photos compared to in-person assessments.
3. Key virtual care considerations, including appropriate triaging, workflow and documentation, security of devices, accessibility and Wi-Fi, managing expectations and scope, addressing the needs of young, elderly, and vulnerable patients, and maintaining a consistent quality improvement process.
4. Emphasizing the need for thorough documentation, which should comprise the format of assessment, context, limitations, and safe discharge and follow-up advice.
5. The importance of documenting phone hallway consults between providers, including the name of the consultant, time of the call, advice received, patient safety concerns, and efforts made to contact the consultant.

Dr. Lee's insightful lecture not only provided valuable guidance for healthcare professionals navigating the world of virtual care but also sparked essential conversations on the topic. As a follow-up, Dr. Lee will be providing resources and articles that will be uploaded to the Virtual Hallway portal for further exploration.

Stay tuned for more updates on this crucial aspect of modern healthcare, and be sure not to miss future lectures and events hosted by the Virtual Hallway platform.

To view Dr. Lee’s lecture please login to your account under the Lectures Tab. 

Coming up will be Dr. Phil Tibbo’s lecture on Management of Early Psychosis and Schizophrenia, date to be announced soon!