Clinical and economic impact of a community-based, hybrid model of in-person and virtual care in a Canadian rural setting: a cross-sectional population-based comparative study.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the clinical and economic impact of a community-based, hybrid model of in-person and virtual care by comparing health-system performance of the rural jurisdiction where this model was implemented with neighbouring jurisdictions without such a model and the broader regional health system.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional comparative study.

SETTING

Ontario, Canada, with a focus on three largely rural public health units from 1 April 2018 until 31 March 2021.

PARTICIPANTS

All residents of Ontario, Canada under the age of 105 eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan during the study period.

INTERVENTIONS

An innovative, community-based, hybrid model of in-person and virtual care, the Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (VTAC), was implemented in Renfrew County, Ontario on 27 March 2020.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary outcome was a change in emergency department (ED) visits anywhere in Ontario, secondary outcomes included changes in hospitalisations and health-system costs, using per cent changes in mean monthly values of linked health-system administrative data for 2 years preimplementation and 1 year postimplementation.

RESULTS

Renfrew County saw larger declines in ED visits (-34.4%, 95% CI -41.9% to -26.0%) and hospitalisations (-11.1%, 95% CI -19.7% to -1.5%) and slower growth in health-system costs than other rural regions studied. VTAC patients' low-acuity ED visits decreased by -32.9%, high-acuity visits increased by 8.2%, and hospitalisations increased by 30.0%.

CONCLUSION

After implementing VTAC, Renfrew County saw reduced ED visits and hospitalisations and slower health-system cost growth compared with neighbouring rural jurisdictions. VTAC patients experienced reduced unnecessary ED visits and increased appropriate care. Community-based, hybrid models of in-person and virtual care may reduce the burden on emergency and hospital services in rural, remote and underserved regions. Further study is required to evaluate potential for scale and spread.