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www.canadianlawyermag.com 35 "It comes down to 'standard of care.' Does care for that particular patient require the physician to lay their hands on that patient?" Jill McCartney, Siskinds LLP Katherine Serniwka, an associate in the professional practice group at Siskinds LLP in London, Ont., says the physicians and other health-care professionals may have been "forced" into providing care virtually earlier than what might have happened without a pandemic. Still, she doesn't see it ending any time soon. "I think they are going to be engaging in virtual care for as long as possible and as long as they need to as a result of the pandemic," she says. But even when the pandemic resolves, virtual care is here to stay, thanks to the alter- natives it allows practitioners, the convenience it provides patients and the potential cost savings it can provide governments who spend billions on health-care annually. Serniwka's colleague at Siskinds, partner Jill McCartney, whose practice focuses on the plaintiff side of medical malpractice, says the issues around providing care in a virtual format aren't that different than providing care to someone in an in-person setting. "It comes down to 'standard of care.' Does care for that particular patient require the physician to lay their hands on that patient?"? Does the physician have to call someone in depending on what happened in the virtual setting? It's going to be incumbent upon the physician to make that decision." The CMPA notes that regulatory bodies across the country have long established that the standard of care does not change when using virtual care. Still, McCartney says the We offer flat rate services within Edmonton and surrounding area starting at $105 plus GST We do offer online service submission which means you can submit your services 24 hours/day, 7 days/week and we have a 24 hour line available to answer your questions. Edmonton's Process Server Visa, MasterCard, American Express and eTransfers are our accepted forms of payment Phone 1 780 249 9626 Fax 1 780 249 9625 Email servenow@yegps.ca www.yegprocessserving.ca