Enhancing Health Care Access in Rural and Remote Communities: An Environmental Scan of Virtual Health Innovations in British Columbia
Summary. British Columbia has implemented 70 virtual health innovations in rural and remote communities over the past decade, including Real Time Virtual Support pathways for emergency and maternity care. These initiatives operate largely in isolation across regions. The paper argues that stronger partnerships among policymakers, health authorities, researchers, industry, and communities are essential to integrate these efforts and improve healthcare access and equity in underserved areas.
Cite this article
Martin, B., James, A., Mitchell, C. M., Oelke, N. D., Singh, A., & Hoekstra, F.. (2025). Enhancing Health Care Access in Rural and Remote Communities: An Environmental Scan of Virtual Health Innovations in British Columbia. Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé. https://doi.org/10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688
Martin, Brian, et al. “Enhancing Health Care Access in Rural and Remote Communities: An Environmental Scan of Virtual Health Innovations in British Columbia.” Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé, 2025. https://doi.org/10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688.
Martin, Brian, Alison James, C. Madeline Mitchell, Nelly D. Oelke, Anurag Singh, and Femke Hoekstra. 2025. “Enhancing Health Care Access in Rural and Remote Communities: An Environmental Scan of Virtual Health Innovations in British Columbia.” Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé. https://doi.org/10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688.
@article{martin-2025-enhancing-health-care-access-rural,
title = {Enhancing Health Care Access in Rural and Remote Communities: An Environmental Scan of Virtual Health Innovations in British Columbia},
author = {Brian Martin and Alison James and C. Madeline Mitchell and Nelly D. Oelke and Anurag Singh and Femke Hoekstra},
journal = {Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688},
url = {https://doi.org/10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688}
}
TY - JOUR TI - Enhancing Health Care Access in Rural and Remote Communities: An Environmental Scan of Virtual Health Innovations in British Columbia AU - Brian Martin AU - Alison James AU - C. Madeline Mitchell AU - Nelly D. Oelke AU - Anurag Singh AU - Femke Hoekstra JO - Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé PY - 2025 DO - 10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688 UR - https://doi.org/10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.13162/hro-ors.v12i2.6688
- Countries
- Canada
- Regions
- North America
- Categories
- rural-healthcare, policy, general-innovation
- Added
- 2026-05-01