riocan and sickkids aim to make healthcare more accessible for sick children with virtual care kiosks
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currently, the virtual kiosk pilot project is set up on the ground floor of the lawrence allen centre, a shopping centre located in the northwestern part of toronto.
riocan, sickkids
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according to children’s healthcare canada, as many as 1.5 million children do not have access to primary care in the country, leaving parents with very few options when their child becomes ill.
they can go to the emergency department, but wait times are estimated at four hours on the low end to up to 22 hours if they need further care. they may also not need to visit the emergency department because, while their child is sick, it could be with something easily treatable through a community healthcare option.
for many parents, virtual care is an option and can be accessed easily through a few clicks on a home computer or smartphone, but for those living in lower socioeconomic groups, the digital divide keeps them from having the same access to those available resources.
to address this issue, riocan, in partnership with the hospital for sick children (sickkids), created a new way for parents who cannot access virtual resources at home to find the care their child needs in a timely manner—a virtual care kiosk pilot project designed to give people an easily accessible alternative to primary care that isn’t the hospital.
jennifer suess, senior vice president and general counsel at riocan, knows firsthand the crises parents in underserved populations face when their children get sick and hopes to bridge the gap so they can access emergency pediatric care faster and more effectively.
“we all know the healthcare system in ontario, and frankly across canada, has been in crisis for some time,” she said, later continuing, “families are missing work and school, often in order for the parents to get some very basic reassurance or prescription medication, which can sometimes be accessed in the community.”
the pilot project
currently, the virtual kiosk pilot project is set up on the ground floor of the lawrence allen centre, a shopping centre located in the northwestern part of toronto. it is a greeter-assisted kiosk that gives parents an easily accessible place to go when looking for care for their child.
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it’s set up in the shopping centre so that people who lack the digital resources to seek virtual care from home can find it in a reachable area.
“people live, stop, and work all around lawrence allen centre, and it also happens to be on the cusp of some of the most disadvantaged digital postal code areas in the province,” said suess. “many of the families that live in the surrounding area live in high-rise buildings that may not have excellent wifi, which is needed to access a virtual platform. they may not have privacy in their homes in order to conduct a proper visit, and again, they may not even know that this resource is available.”
the kiosk works like this: parents can bring their children to the clinic, which is situated in retail space. a greeter puts them through a symptom screening to ensure they don’t need emergency care and can be seen virtually—and 95 per cent of children don’t need a hospital after going through the symptom checker.
once they’ve gone through all the preliminary questions, they sit in a waiting room and wait to see a doctor from sickkids via a virtual call to get to the bottom of their illness, a prescription, if necessary, which they can then fill at the pharmacy located in the shopping centre.
the virtual platform is available from anywhere, but data on those using it showed that high-needs communities in toronto could not take advantage of it. because of that, having the kiosk at the lawrence allen centre gives those with little privacy or no access to a computer or the internet a way to take advantage of the program.
“we’ve seen an enormous uptick in people who are now aware of that service,” said suess. “it’s much more convenient to be in the shopping centre.”
eliminating barriers faced by parents in underserved communities
the idea of the pilot project was to spread awareness of the virtual care program at sickkids so that parents are aware of their options when finding care. however, the main goal was to give parents the chance to seek care even when they’re faced with challenging barriers that make it that much harder to find a doctor for their child when they have an illness.
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suess notes that parents with sick children who live in underserved communities or those who lack the digital resources to access virtual care from home often have to miss work or school because the wait times in traditional doctors’ offices or emergency care clinics are far too long.
getting around in the gta also poses a barrier for parents who could benefit from this kiosk, as traffic congestion or the cost to get from point a to b also creates problems in accessing care.
“by placing this directly in communities where we know they are lower socioeconomically and they don’t have the same access to resources that other pockets of the population that have historically accessed virtual care on a more regular basis, we’re now starting to understand some of those demographics that are truly going to benefit by having this platform,” said suess. “we are absolutely trying to bridge that gap and increase the equitable access by all communities.”
she goes on to note that the virtual care kiosk is a crucial step in the right direction because “our healthcare system has been based on the exact same model for decades, and it’s not just keeping pace with the needs of communities.”
expanding the program to reach more underserved communities
as of writing, there is only one kiosk available, and it’s situated in toronto. however, plans to expand the project are in motion so that they can eventually provide equitable access to care across the country.
riocan is “actively pursuing opportunities” to partner with other healthcare institutions nationwide.
“that will truly equalize access and truly allow every child and every adult to have access to doctors in a system where it is so constrained,” said suess. “i think it’s important in our system to be innovative.”
she continued, “it’s really important that every canadian educates themselves on what is truly possible within the existing healthcare system and starts to demand more.”
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