Regulating for-profit virtual care in Canada: Implications for medical profession regulators and policy-makers

Abstract

For-profit virtual medical care has been expanding rapidly in Canada, creating new societal and practical challenges requiring policy and regulatory reform. We mapped the current state of regulatory policy across 10 Canadian provinces by analyzing practice standards and guidelines for virtual care from medical profession regulators. Through a comparative framework, we assessed the extent to which virtual practice policies addressed issues around mobility and licensure, equitable access, privacy, complaints, and continuity of care. We also compared these regulatory documents to the model standards from the Canadian medical regulatory consortium and considered implications for practicing in for-profit virtual environments. We found considerable variation across provincial regulatory bodies, with most existing frameworks not adequately addressing equity, access, and practitioner competency and not providing flexible, nuanced, or risk-based approaches to virtual care provision. As we compared jurisdictions, we identified gaps and leading practices to inform recommendations for professional regulators and policy-makers.