Interior Health to test virtual doctors at rural hospitals next year

Rural hospitals in the BC Interior have been plagued by periodic emergency room closures for several years. Instead of bolstering its ranks to fill shifts 24/7, the health authority is testing a virtual option.

In early 2026, four rural hospitals will be part of an upcoming pilot project to support in-person nursing staff with virtually-available doctors.

Clearwater, Lillooet, Princeton and Nakusp will have at least two nurses on the overnight shift, while they rotate on-call doctors to take on virtual appointments if needed.

Merlin Blackwell, mayor of Clearwater, said while the program isn’t a silver bullet, it’s expected to ease the workload on the small hospitals that sometimes struggle to keep enough staff to maintain overnight shifts.

“We know at the rate doctors and nurses are coming into the system, this is not going to be solved in two months, four months, six months. This is a multiple-year issue,” he said. “New things have to be tried so we don’t require people to work more hours.”

Though the four rural hospitals aren’t the only Interior Health emergency departments that have seen temporary closures, the model is a test that could be expanded further. It’s also not the first time such a model has been tried in the region, with Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake adopting it last November.

New CEO Sylvia Weir said the health authority will seek staff feedback and examine patient care over time to study the results.

“We’re saying let’s do a small number of sites first, evaluate and make sure medical staff, patients and nurses are comfortable. Then, if it works as a model, it’s a way of keeping physicians in the community,” she said. “They don’t need to leave because they’re not overworked. I hope it’s a win-win.”

The small hospitals don’t typically see many overnight emergency visits. Clearwater’s Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital might only average up to two per night, but a closure would force patients to travel two hours to Kamloops.

“It’s almost like an increase in capacity, it’s not a substitution, so I think it’s a really exciting idea,” Weir said.

Should the virtually-contacted doctor find nurses need support, a local on-call doctor would attend. Otherwise, in-person care would be staffed by a small team of nurses while a virtual doctor is still in charge of care, she said.

While the four hospitals are eyeing an official launch of the virtual program shortly after the new year, some are participating in a “soft launch” in December to “ensure a smooth rollout,” according to an Interior Health spokesperson.