Physicians' experiences delivering provincial real-time virtual support services: A qualitative interview study

Rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in British Columbia (BC) tend to have lower access to healthcare providers and poorer health outcomes-an inequality that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated. In response, Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS) pathways were developed to advance equitable access to care for patients and provide peer support to physicians working in underserved communities. This study aimed to describe the perspectives of Virtual Physicians (VPs) who delivered the RTVS services. Forty-five RTVS VPs engaged in 30-minute semi-structured interviews about their experiences and perspectives delivering RTVS. Three themes emerged: (1) RTVS's contributions to VPs' personal and professional development; (2) impacts on communities; and (3) considerations for the availability and expansion. VPs identified incremental expansion and attaining funding stability as critical next steps for virtual healthcare in BC. This evidence informed RTVS program evaluation and may provide learnings relevant to other jurisdictions.