Posted on: November 14, 2023
Virtual Care Services is excited to announce the release of 12 new virtual care guidelines and policy documents. Over the past two years, we have worked with clinical programs, leadership, patients, and other partners to develop resources to support Island Health staff with the appropriate use of virtual care.
Post COVID-19, we continue to see significant growth and adoption of virtual care. The resources were developed to facilitate a standard approach to the implementation and delivery of virtual care, answer frequently asked questions, and provide links to existing Island Health policies and other external resources.
New guidelines and policy documents for virtual care are now published. Staff who are currently using or plan to implement virtual care into their program or practice should review the documents. They provide useful information on everything from privacy and security considerations to assessing suitability for virtual care, client and family rights, informed consent, and planning for staff and patient safety.
The virtual care guidelines and policy documents are available on the Policy and Procedures and Virtual Care sites and include:
| Document Name | Document Type |
| Approved Virtual Care Tools | Guideline |
| Assessing Virtual Care Suitability for Integration into Your Program or Practice | Guideline |
| Virtual Care Downtime Guideline | Guideline |
| Virtual Care Quality Measures and Evaluation | Guideline |
| The Virtual Care Visit | Guideline |
| Planning for Staff and Patient Safety When Providing Care Virtually | Guideline |
| Virtual Care Client and Family Rights | Policy |
| Clinical Practice and Duty of Care in Virtual Care | Policy |
| Informed Consent to Virtual Care | Policy |
| Virtual Care Privacy, Security and Confidentiality | Policy |
| Client Use of Island Health Devices | Policy |
| Video Visit Webside Manner Best Practice Tool | Best Practice Tool |
The virtual care guidelines and policy documents will be reviewed and updated at least annually. We encourage you to provide suggestions for updates and any other feedback to virtualcare@islandhealth.ca.
A big thank you to our partners who supported this important work over the last two years!