Virtual urgent care didn't divert Ontario patients from ER visits during pandemic, study suggests
Virtual urgent care didn't make a dent in diverting patients with less severe health problems from going to emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, according to researchers in a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
![Virtual urgent care didn't divert Ontario patients from ER visits during pandemic, study suggests](https://i.cbc.ca/1.6304267.1699048555!/cumulusImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/2022-uhn-hospital-ambulance-feature.jpg)
![Ambulance paramedics unload a patient at the emergency department of St. Michael’s Hospital, in downtown Toronto, on Jan. 4, 2022. Ambulance paramedics unload a patient.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.6304267.1699048555!/cumulusImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/2022-uhn-hospital-ambulance-feature.jpg)
Virtual urgent care didn't make a dent in diverting patients with less severe health problems from going to emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, according to researchers in a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.