Residents in Prescott-Russell who don’t have a family doctor yet may soon be able to get help to determine if they need to see a doctor through a virtual triage program.
Triage is the medical term for the preliminary assessment and evaluation of someone to determine how urgent their physical or medical condition is. In an accident scenario, either on-site or at a hospital emergency centre, triage is the first step for paramedics or doctors to determine who needs immediate treatment and what type of treatment may be needed.
Prescott-Russell Emergency Services (PRES) has received startup funding from Ontario Health to set up a bilingual virtual triage and assessment program (VTAP) as part of its community paramedic program. All VTAP costs for 2025 are covered through the $425,750 provincial grant.
“This program will provide access to primary care providers for patients that do not have family doctors,” stated PRES Director Marc-André Périard, in a report to United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR) March 26.
VTAP will operate through the PRES community paramedic program. Council approved a recommendation to accept both the VTAP grant and direct the emergency services department to begin the process to set up the new program.
For now the only confirmed expense for the VTAP program is hiring a project manager to oversee setting it up. That cost estimate is $90,000. PRES will report on other program costs as they determined during the initial startup.
The VTAP is not meant to replace family doctors or any other specialized medical expert in providing health care to residents of Prescott-Russell. It is intended to help people better determine if they need to seek immediate medical treatment for any condition or ailment.
“This program will allow patients, in all our municipalities, that have no immediate access to a family physician to get much needed care and support,” stated Périard, “by providing virtual care to doctors, in partnership with our current community paramedic program.”
Périard also assured UCPR council that the process of setting up VTAP will include a public information campaign about what it is, how it works, and how residents can make use of it.
“We will have a communiciation plan once the program is up and running,” said Périard, adding that there will be a contact phone number residents can use when VTAP is set up.
