MedviewMD’s model of teleconferencing with a physician combined with the physical attendance of an LPN is useful for only a part of the medical care that people without family doctors need.
The patient in the article was told she’d be referred to a gynecologist for a Pap smear. Will patients needing breast exams, prostate exams, etc., also need specialist referrals?
Will this add to wait lists for patients truly needing specialist care? Are LPNs, with 16 months of post-secondary training, the best option for patients’ medical care in this system, or just the cheapest business model option?
MedviewMD was founded by the owner of Alqonquin Pharmasave and its current CEO is a former bond trader.
The article noted that the patient’s prescription was sent electronically to the Cridge Pharmacy, in which the MedviewMD “clinic” is located in Victoria. With such a close relationship, isn’t there a conflict of interest and the risk of even more reliance on drugs as the treatment of choice?
Why are these MedviewMD “clinics” allowed in B.C. before the provincial government has established systems to guarantee privacy, confidentiality, a single patient record, and to address other concerns mentioned by the Ministry of Health spokesperson?
Why isn’t our provincial government providing medically and fiscally sound solutions to the growing crisis of too few family physicians?
Kathlyn Liscomb
Victoria
