Medical Careers

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is virtual healthcare?
  Virtual care refers to any encounter between a patient and a healthcare professional that takes place when they are in separate locations. It includes asynchronous written messaging (including email), live chat, audio calls and video calls.
• What is Dialogue?
  Dialogue is the largest and fastest growing telemedicine company in Canada. Dialogue is a secure platform that allows patients to navigate the healthcare system and receive care through virtual consultations. We help patients by referring them to the right professional (nurse, nurse practitioner, doctor, etc.) in a timely manner. When the client connects to the Dialogue application, they arrive in a virtual "waiting room". Our automated system then asks a few questions to better determine the client's needs and direct them to the right member of the care team. When a client presents symptoms, an artificial intelligence system asks a few questions about their current symptoms and then issues a summary that is reviewed by a nurse. The nurse then refers the client to the best resource for the situation, such as a nurse counselling, NP or physician. At all times, Navigation Assistants/Care Managers are available to clients, either to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians or NPs, or to help them find a walk-in clinic when the current health problem requires an in-person consultation, or to review the NP/Physician care plan after the consultation to ensure that the client has all the documentation, information, support they need, and much more.
• How many patients will I treat each hour?
  Since the administrative portion of consultations is mostly delegated to care coordinators to allow the physician to focus on patient care, appointments are generally every 15-30 minutes.
• How does being a physician at Dialogue work?
  As a physician, you will register for shifts using our scheduling tool. Once you begin, you will log into your Dialogue appointment schedule and begin seeing patients. Initial triage is performed by experienced nurses and you will have access to the patient’s medical history before you start your consultation. Most administrative tasks (sending documents to patients, reminders, booking follow-up appointments, finding specialists) are handled by our care coordinators or automatically by the software platform.
• Does RAMQ cover telemedicine? (practitioners in QC only)
  Telemedicine is an uninsured service, so it is acceptable (and legal) to charge patients for teleconsultation. Our service is billed directly to the employer, who offers the Dialogue subscription to its employees as a benefit.
• What is treated by video consultation?
  Patients use Dialogue for non-urgent issues that do not require a mandatory physical examination. The most common complaints are painless eye problems, minor skin trauma, rashes, urinary tract infections, sleep disorders, allergies, sexual health, depression and anxiety, pre/post travel problems, prescription refills, etc. Our care team adheres to a clear scope of practice that ensures patient safety and standardization of care among our practitioners.
• Can I prescribe without a physical assessment?
  Yes, our scope of practice and pre-consultation triage allows you to see almost only those patients who are eligible for video-consultations. You should always use your professional judgment: if you think that something cannot be fully assessed without a physical examination, you are encouraged to refer your patient for an in-person consultation by a physician.
• Is telemedicine secure and confidential?
  All data on our platform complies with the highest security standards. We protect the confidentiality of all patient information and never disclose it unless the patient consents or if it is required by law.
• How will the schedule work for me?
  You will indicate your availability by using our planning tool. Once your availability is entered into the system, our schedule planner will confirm the shifts assigned to you.
  
  Doctors who work part-time often work blocks of 3 to 5 hours. It is the doctor who decides on the availability he wishes to offer and the schedule will be built according to the availability offered and the needs of the clientele. Those working full time work regular 8-hour days.
  
  Since the clientele is mainly composed of workers, there are also appointments in the evenings and weekends. Doctors therefore work some evenings or weekends occasionally on blocks of 3 or 4 hours.
• Can anyone subscribe to Dialogue?
  No, Dialogue is available to employers and only their employees can benefit from our services.