Scarborough and its surrounding communities can now book appointments through a new virtual urgent care clinic.”¨ “¨The Scarborough Virtual Urgent Care Clinic is a partnership between Scarborough Health Network (SHN) and the East GTA Family Health Team. This virtual clinic consists of a team of emergency physicians called the Scarborough Emergency Associates, who offer urgent care services for adults and children.

“This new clinic gives us an opportunity to provide care at a distance for many patients who are experiencing urgent, but non-life-threatening conditions. The Scarborough Virtual Urgent Care Clinic makes getting care more accessible and convenient, delivers more positive health outcomes, and helps patients avoid long waits in the emergency department,” explained Dr. Norman Chu, Medical Director and Chief of Emergency at SHN.

This new urgent care clinic offers patients an opportunity to speak with an emergency physician virtually if they cannot book an appointment with their own family doctor or primary healthcare provider.

Patients are encouraged to use the video chat feature on their computer or mobile device; however, phone calls will still be accepted if necessary.

“We want patients across the Greater Toronto Area to have access to immediate, quality health care. It’s important that we remove barriers so that community members can get help when they need it. With this new virtual urgent care clinic it becomes easier for patients to connect with a physician right from their own home.” said Dr. Chris Jyu from the East GTA Family Health Team. “This virtual clinic is bridging the gap when it comes to getting needed timely care across our Scarborough communities.”

“¨Who can book?”¨ “¨

Adults and children aged three months and older can book an appointment if they cannot make an urgent appointment with their family doctor or pediatrician.”¨ “¨Urgent care will be provided for several conditions, including:

·      Any condition where a patient can safely wait a few hours for an appointment
·      Minor injuries
·      Questions about COVID-19 symptoms (patients with COVID-19 may use the service for discussing symptoms and symptom management advice)
·      Misplaced prescriptions or forgotten advice given by the ED physician from a previous visit”¨·      Sick notes, etc.

Important note:

“¢ View list of emergency medical conditions. Patients experiencing any of the conditions from the list should go to the nearest Emergency Department immediately for in-person care.
“¢ Patients requesting opioid pain medicine, or a narcotic prescription renewal will not be able to use this service.

 

How to book?

The clinic is open seven days a week. Each morning, appointments will be made available from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Patients are encouraged to book early using their health cards, as it is on a first-come, first-served basis.

In order to book an appointment, users will need to complete an online consent form, and then they will be redirected to a booking page hosted by Medeo.

Virtual Urgent Care visits are meant to be make it easier for patients to be seen by an emergency physician, but are optional. The Emergency Departments at Birchmount, Centenary and General Hospitals are still available for walk-in visits if urgent care is needed.

For more detailed information, please click here.