‘Most important number isn’t how many patients were seen—it’s how many weren’t’ –– eVisitNB COO
The Department of Health has released initial numbers for the newly created e-health service, Virtual Care NB.
In an emailed statement, Morgan Bell, a Communications Officer with the department, said that between June 30 and July 21 (22 days), Virtual Care NB had “completed 2,045 services.”
That is an average of 93 patients per day.
In comparison, eVisitNB data provided to the River Valley Sun for July 2025 showed the New Brunswick-based company served 23,531 patients, an average of 759 people per day. That’s a difference of 88 per cent.
No definition of ‘completed services’ was provided, but the spokesperson wrote that the department did not have “the detailed information needed to allow a more in-depth review.”
In her email to the River Valley Sun, Bell said the department is making changes to obtain more detailed data.
“Moving forward, we have made standardized data formatting, accessibility and retrieval key requirements in our Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to improve data quality, consistency, and analytical accuracy,” she wrote.
eVisitNB, a New Brunswick-based company, served as the virtual care provider until June 30, when it lost its contract to Virtual Care NB, operated by the European firm Foundever, following an RFP. Foundever has operated Tele-Care 811 in New Brunswick since 1995.
Amy McLeod is a Registered Nurse and eVisitNB’s Chief Operating Officer.
“The most important number isn’t how many patients were seen—it’s how many weren’t,” she told the River Valley Sun.
McLeod said the comparable figures indicate that more than 600 New Brunswickers each day are not receiving the virtual care available one month or one year ago.
“Those patients don’t simply disappear,” she said. “They still need care, but are now being redirected into a healthcare system that was never fully prepared to absorb that demand.”
McLeod said community pharmacists are an important part of primary care, but they were never intended to replace a comprehensive virtual care service.
“Whether they provide assessment and prescription renewal services is determined by each individual pharmacy based on staffing, workflow, and medical-legal considerations. In addition, current policy limits pharmacists’ ability to order many of the laboratory tests required to safely monitor patients before renewing certain medications,” she explained.
McLeod also said this was not a criticism of pharmacists.
“It is recognition that every profession has defined scopes of practice,” she said. “The real concern is what delayed access means for the health of New Brunswickers, particularly those without a family physician or nurse practitioner.”
McLeod says that when chronic conditions go unmanaged, medications aren’t monitored, and health concerns remain untreated, patients inevitably become sicker.
“Reducing access to primary care doesn’t reduce the need for care. It simply delays it until patients are sicker and the cost—both human and financial—is far greater. That should concern every New Brunswicker.”
On July 14, an ER physician with the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital warned people about overcapacity issues in Fredericton and Oromocto.
“Expect significant wait times (worse than usual) at DECH ER due to being waaay overcapacity,” Dr. Yogi Sehgal wrote on Facebook. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen 400% capacity before… If you have an immediate life- or limb-threatening condition, you will still be seen immediately somewhere. But if it is a less urgent issue, expect a long wait, so bring a book and a blanket and a snack (or several).”
Dr. Sehgal also suggested people wear helmets when riding or driving anything, and that there were infectious conditions circulating, suggesting people wash their hands and stay at home if you are “actually sick.” He also noted that this was not an official post of the hospital or any health authority.
The following day, during a media briefing, Health Minister Dr. John Dornan said Virtual Care NB was experiencing some issues, and admitted his department was not prepared for the amount of prescription requests. He also acknowledged that provincial pharmacists were not included in his government’s virtual care plan and that he would rectify this in the future. Dornan blamed that oversight and technical issues for the service not performing as the government had initially hoped, noting it was improving on a daily basis. The health minister would not, however, attribute the long ER wait times or hospital overcapacity issues to the government’s transition to a new e-health provider.
