Virtual Healthcare in Rural and Remote Settings: A Qualitative Study of Canadian Rural Family Physicians' Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: This paper aims to explore the experiences of rural family physicians using virtual healthcare in their clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Design: A community-based participatory approach. Setting: Rural and remote communities in Canada. Participants: Thirteen rural family physicians with at least one year of clinical experience. Results: The data illustrate significant issues associated with virtual healthcare in rural healthcare. The adoption of virtual healthcare has been expressed to pose a harsh polarity; the benefit conferred to rural family physicians with the opportunity to have flexible working hours and work at home while interacting with family members is starkly contrasted with the struggles of insufficient financial support to facilitate setting up virtual healthcare for rural physicians, unreliable technological infrastructure, and inadequate technological resources, which are all exacerbated by the lack of adequate health literacy in rural communities. Results were compiled into five major categories underpinning the lived experiences of rural family physicians: 1-potential trade-off between convenience and quality of care; 2-work-family boundaries; 3-patient-doctor communication; 4-technology as barrier or enabler; 5-increased call duration. Conclusion: The differing trends assessed in the findings illustrate the complications faced in providing virtual healthcare, which resonates with the experiences and views of rural physicians. The findings of this study may guide the development of tailored technologies that adjust for the complexity of administering virtual healthcare in rural communities.