Virtual health care in a post-pandemic Canada: A checkup

As we approach the holidays, it seems like another lifetime ago when the COVID-19 pandemic forced sudden changes to otherwise routine in-person activities—including medical appointments, many of which had to be done virtually.

Though life has largely returned to normal after the easing of restrictions, some virtual appointments remain. But to what extent?

A recently released Statistics Canada study, Virtual care use in Canada: Variation across sociodemographic and health-related factors, examines what virtual care looked like in 2023. Let’s have a look at some of the main takeaways, along with a snapshot of other health care data, to get a sense of how virtual care has changed post-pandemic.

The study, based on data from the Canadian Social Survey (CSS) collected from July 14 to August 27, 2023, found that more than half (57.5%) of health care users had in-person appointments only in the 12 months preceding the survey, while 5.3% had virtual appointments only, and over one-third (37.2%) had both types.

Fewer than 1 in 10 health care users (8.9%) declined a virtual appointment in 2023, and the top two reasons cited were greater comfort with in-person care, or having a health issue that required an in-person appointment.

Differences in rates of virtual care usage were minimal after considering factors such as immigrant status, sexual orientation, and financial well-being. That said, other differences were notable—for example, those aged 75 and older were less likely to have had both virtual and in-person appointments than in-person only, compared with those aged 15 to 24. Meanwhile, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador (13.2%) were more than six times as likely as those in Saskatchewan (2.1%) to get virtual care only.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), 2% to 11% of patient services were virtual in 2019, depending on the province. The CIHI also reported that in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, physicians in Canada provided almost one-third (32%) of their services virtually, though this varied by physician specialty.

In 2022, two years into the pandemic and amid the rise of virtual care, the April 7, 2022, edition of the Eh Sayers podcast discussed the issue in-depth. Dr. Gigi Osler, co-chair of the Virtual Care Task Force of the Canadian Medical Association, spoke of how virtual care could continue to help those without a regular health care provider—as it did pre-pandemic.

Dr. Osler emphasized “equity of access,” or ensuring that patients have the proper digital equipment and knowledge to participate virtually, as well as access to a high-speed Internet connection. Access could be an issue for those living in remote or Indigenous communities, or who are homeless, or have a disability.

Other CSS data suggest that a virtual appointment could keep at least some of those sniffles out of crowded clinics or emergency rooms. From July to September 2024, just over 1 in 20 Canadians (5.4%) reported consulting a telephone health line for a respiratory infection.

Access continues to be a challenge for many Canadians, so if virtual care can play even a small role, it’s always welcomed.

From 2022 to 2023, the proportion of Canadians with a regular health care provider fell in all age groups. In 2022, almost 1 in 10 (9.2%) Canadians aged 15 and older reported unmet health care needs, up from 7.9% in 2021.

The Survey of Health Care Access and Experiences—Virtual Care and Pharmaceuticals just finished collecting data from Canadians on those topics. Data will be released in summer 2026.