Virtual Emergency Room

The Virtual Emergency Room offers remote access to emergency care doctors to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador living in rural and remote areas. This keeps health care facilities open and helps patients receive medical attention while limiting the need to travel outside the community to access emergency care.

A Virtual Emergency Room operates similarly to a traditional emergency room. You will be seen by a nurse or clinician in-person, and you may then be connected to a virtual ER doctor. The virtual ER doctor will work closely with your on-site nurse and other clinicians who will use remote technology that recreates an in-person patient/doctor experience. Together, they will determine a diagnosis and necessary treatments and follow-up with local experts if further treatment is required.

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Virtual ER doctors will work closely with on-site emergency room nurses and other clinicians using technology that recreates an in-person patient/doctor experience. Via a Teladoc Health remote device, patients are able to have a conversation with the virtual ER doctor, and if a physical examination is needed, the doctor will collaborate with the on-site nurse or clinician to conduct assessments. Together, the virtual ER doctor and on-site team will determine a diagnosis and necessary treatment and follow-up with other local experts if further treatment is required.

The Teladoc Health remote devices used include a high-definition camera to conduct examinations, and a four-speaker audio system for clear dialogue and the ability to listen to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other organs through a stethoscope. Through the device platform, medical records or images can be uploaded by the on-site nurse or other clinician for virtual physicians to review.
No. A Virtual ER will be available at select sites. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please go to your nearest ER.
Many visits to the ER are urgent, but not life-threatening, such as a sprained wrist, urinary tract infection, cuts and bruises, or an ear infection, which can be assessed virtually, in collaboration with an on-site nurse or other clinician.

In the few cases where a medical doctor is required for in-person treatment, patients will be transferred to a full-service hospital, just as they are today.