Abstract
During the Covid-9 pandemic, virtual care, virtual wards and ehealth demonstrated their impact and value in delivering high quality person centered care. Globally, healthcare systems embraced ehealth as an alternative to face to face contact, to ensure their citizens received high quality healthcare whilst managing the Covid-9 pandemic. Subsequently, AI, ChatGPT, and virtual and augmented reality have started to become mainstream digital solutions for healthcare professionals and patients. This workshop looks at the lessons learned from the pandemic, and how healthcare systems can embrace innovative digital solutions to deliver future fit for purpose care. BackgroundPrior to the covid-9 pandemic, virtual and ehealth delivery was variable across Canada. This was in part due to lack of reimbursement for Family Physicians, a perception ehealth is inferior to that face to face, and a lack of prioritization from systems leaders. At the advent of the pandemic nearly all healthcare systems pivoted to ehealth as an essential solution to continuing to provide essential non-acute services to citizens.Subsequently, citizens now accept virtual and ehealth solutions as business as usual, in the way that other industries have embraced the digital revolution.As healthcare systems deliver ehealth as standard of care, the next generation of innovation, AI and virtual and augmented reality, are offering new and innovation solutions to the challenges healthcare systems are facing.Healthcare systems are employing these solutions, but it is not mainstream and many remain uncertain of the benefits and risks.This workshop will explore how we embrace the next generation of digital solutions, the 'metaverse', as part of the natural evolution and advancement of medical/clinical science.
Results: Exploring the barriers, enablers and success factors for scaling next generation digital solutions, the benefits and risks, and who needs to do what.