QDoc delivers ‘innovative … forward-thinking’ health care, co-founder honoured

Article content

Two Winnipeg-based medical entrepreneurs are helping ease Manitoba’s doctor shortage through the creation of technology that supports virtual medical appointments.

Article content

Dr. Norman Silver, a paediatric ER doctor and David Berkowits, a medical technologist, started QDoc Inc. in 2021 and saw 100 patients using a “crappy” platform. The numbers increased to 13,000 in 2022 and 52,000 patients in 2023 as their technology evolved — all within the public system.

“Our mission at QDoc is to provide equal access to quality medical care to all Canadians, regardless of geographic location or socioeconomic status,” said Silver, noting the company also operates in northwestern Ontario, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories using 145 doctors and 45 nurse practitioners.

Manitoba’s doctor shortage hit a record high in 2023 when 445 more doctors would’ve been required to reach the national average of physicians per capita, said Doctors Manitoba in a recent report.

Article content

Article content

“This impacts patient care, including over 150,000 Manitobans without a family doctor and unreasonably long wait times for emergency and specialty care,” said the report. “Seeing the shortage improve is a turning point in the province, though Manitoba still ranks second lowest in the country for physicians per capita.”

Although QDoc works well in Winnipeg — directing many patients away from overcrowded ERs, the greatest gains are in rural areas where people have a difficult time accessing primary care doctors for episodic medical issues. 73% of QDoc patients live outside the city.

Silver recalled helping a rural patient who accessed the QDoc platform because there wasn’t an ER doc available in the region.

Article content

“This patient did not have a car,” he said. “Even if there was an open ER, it could easily be an hour to an hour and a half away.”

QDoc is a good stopgap for when there are significant regional disparities in doctor availability, said Silver, noting his national expansion plans.

“It could be a weekend where Flin Flon is not being serviced well — another weekend it could be Selkirk or Winkler or Morden,” he said. “What this does is level the playing field because there may be doctors in Winkler that can help see patients in Flin Flon when they are short.”

Statistics from Doctors Manitoba indicate Manitoba is now short 346 physicians, which is an improvement from the record high of 2023.

Silver and Berkowits are part of the upswing in patient access despite platform limitations — it’s difficult for doctors to perform medical procedures over video. They plan to ramp up QDoc to 2,000 doctors seeing two patients per day each.

Article content

“So, not a lot of work for each individual provider, but a huge help to the medical system,” said Silver. “It is a very rewarding experience when a patient is happy to stay at home.”

QDoc patients triage themselves, said Silver, prioritizing appointments based on the severity of medical problems. When it becomes difficult to help patients over video, QDoc can send a note to its medical team for a solution.

For example, if Silver is worried a patient in a particular region may have appendicitis, he can reach out to doctors who may be working in a nearby ER.

“Invariably we’ll have an answer,” he said.

QDoc created an iPhone application for its team. Technology is being integrated to obtain patient body temperature, heart rate, oxygen saturation and EKGs from smartphones. The company employs nine in-house software developers.

Article content

“We are working on the future,” said Silver, who described helping a parent treat an arm dislocation in a child during a snowstorm that limited the family’s ability to travel safely to the hospital.

“She reduced her own kid’s elbow and didn’t have to go anywhere,” he said. “Travelling through a snowstorm to the hospital was, in my mind, a much higher risk.”

Is taking patient histories to determine diagnoses over video any different from history taking in a clinic?

“It’s very similar,” said Silver. “The biggest difference is that I speak out my physical exam with the patient.”

Silver and Berkowits plan to expand the platform to include specialist consultations, including mental health.

“There are some studies showing that it’s actually better to do some of these (mental health consultations) virtually,” he said. “Some people don’t want to present in front of somebody. Our primary method is video, but patients do have the option to turn it off.”

Article content

A spokesperson for Doctors Manitoba said QDoc has developed a good platform that’s convenient for quick walk-in type issues.

“Ultimately, we want to see more Manitobans with a family doctor who knows them — that they can see for their health concerns, big or small, when they need.”

Increasing health-care access for residents is a top priority for the province, said Manitoba Minister of Health Uzoma Asagwara in a statement. They said QDoc is a valuable partner in making health care more accessible, particularly in rural and northern areas.

“The potential for this kind of technology is exciting and forward-thinking,” Asagwara said. “Our contract with QDoc helps us continue to find innovative ways to connect Manitobans with the care they need, when they need it, close to home.”

Recently, Silver was named an Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. Silver and Berkowits have received multiple CIO Awards for IT achievements.

Have thoughts on what’s going on in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada or across the world? Send us a letter to the editor at wpgsun.letters@kleinmedia.ca

Article content