Connect securely with your patients by video

eVisits enhance access to care by enabling you to see your patients by video from your computer to a local health care centre, or direct to the patient’s device.

Get Started

For updated information on virtual care services available to support the current pandemic, please see our dedicated COVID-19 page and consider our Virtual Visit Solution Guidance.

eVisit for Specialized Care | Virtual Health Care Appointments: Content

eVisits enable you to easily connect to your patients, no matter where your patient is located. Extending the reach of your practice through videoconferencing is easy to do and offers flexibility – to providers, to patients, and to your practice. Virtual care is key to enhancing access and modernizing health care delivery for all Ontarians.

There are two options for connecting by video with patients: to a health care facility near the patient’s home or direct to the patient’s device. Connect to a health care facility when you need the support of a virtual care nurse to do a physical examination of your patient. When nursing support isn’t needed, you can send the patient an eVisit invitation via email, enabling them to connect with you directly from a secure location of their choice: on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

eVisits can be useful for follow-up visits and chronic disease management, and are billable through the OHIP claims system. Virtual care can help you realize greater efficiencies in care delivery, reducing missed appointments, cancellations, and patient backlogs, while increasing capacity, reserving in-office appointments only for the patients who require them. Supporting your work-life balance, eVisits provide the flexibility to deliver care at a distance, whether from the office or from home.

eVisits are a convenient and time-saving option for both patients, providers, and specialists alike when an in-office visit isn’t needed. They enhance access to care, both for patients who may be rural or remote, as well as those in urban areas who are challenged by time off work, childcare, travel, and parking, in addition to illness that makes mobility challenging.

Specialists find eVisits helpful for follow-up visits, and to connect with patients to review test results or treatment response. eVisits can be equally useful for first-time visits and are also used extensively for mental health care delivery, cognitive behaviour therapy, and counselling sessions. Determining when an eVisit is appropriate is at your discretion.

To connect with patients at a health care centre, use the OTN Directory to identify and book a virtual care host site and secure the support of a virtual care nurse. To connect with a patient at home, send them an email invitation through the OTNhub. eVisits require a strong internet connection and a device with a camera and microphone, such as a PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone, and a location that is private.

Support is available for clinicians and their staff in managing the technical considerations and integrating virtual care into care delivery. This support is available to you, along with tips from others who have already incorporated eVisits into their practice.

We’re working on creating more opportunities to enable health care organizations and affiliated providers to use the video services of their choice, and bill for video interactions, on a proof of concept basis.

Learn more about the OTNhub community and membership

eVisits are just one of the tools accessible via OTNhub, a private and secure community that supports the delivery of virtual care. Organize your virtual appointments through our scheduling tool.Identify and connect with other providers, or refer your patients via video through the OTN Directory. eConsult connects primary care providers with specialists who provide fast online advice, often eliminating the need to send patients for in-person appointments. Technical and model integration support is also provided to assist you in to successfully building these tools into your practice.

Get Started with Video VisitsJoin the OTNhub and start delivering virtual care today.

Sign up

Reach out for questions about eVisit best practices and how to make it work for you.

Contact Us

To learn more about these solutions or for any questions, please contact us.

OTN is not a health care provider and cannot provide medical advice or treatment to patients. If you need to see a doctor, please contact your family doctor or find out how to access health services here. Please DO NOT send any confidential personal health information through this form, such as your health card number, birth date, symptoms, etc.

Warning: do not send any Personal Health Information!