Geoffrey C. Nguyen, MD, PhD, FRCP(C), CAGF, AGAF

Staff Physician, Sinai Hospital System
Professor of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Senior Clinician Scientist, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute Senior
Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences

Sunday, April 3, 2022

11:00 am - 11:30 am
 

Virtual Care: How GI Care Has Evolved

Using inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as a case study of a chronic disease condition, this presentation will highlight how virtual care can be used to bridge access to gastroenterology care in undeserved areas. We will discuss how gastroenterologists pivoted to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic and how its use was rapidly expanded. We will review how gastroenterology practices have adapted their workflow and technology to optimize virtual care. We will explore the role of virtual care after the pandemic and what elements are likely to remain sustainable. Virtual care will remain a powerful tool to increase access to specialty care not only for those in rural, underserved areas, but also for vulnerable populations with limited mobility. Finally, we will speculate how the judicious use of virtual care can reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare systems that are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.

Dr. Nguyen is Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and the Institute for Health Policy Management and Evaluation. He is a staff physician at Mount Sinai Hospital with an IBD-focused practice. His research program evaluates the impact of IBD specialty care on health outcomes. He analyzes administrative health data to monitor patterns of IBD-related healthcare utilization, its determinants, effect on quality of life, and economic impact. He is the national lead for the Promoting Access and Care through Centres of Excellence (PACE) a national network dedicated to improving access and quality of care for patients with IBD. As part of PACE, he piloted the IBD telemedicine program in Ontario to increase access to IBD specialist care in rural, underserved areas. Based on the program’s success, he will be launching the Canadian Network for Virtual Access to Specialists in IBD (CaNVAS-IBD) to establish similar virtual care programs throughout Canada.