Virtual nurse practitioner business comes to Fredericton

A nurse practitioner in Fredericton is trying to create a niche for herself alongside the provincial health-care system.

Lynne Thriault Sehgal has started Access Point Health, a private part-time virtual health clinic in Fredericton.

She sees patients over the internet for a fee of $48 for up to 20 minutes during the work week.

"I think the virtual world and video medical visits was sort of where I [was] inclined to go to," said Thriault Sehgal, a nurse for almost 20 years.

"It's innovative and it's convenient."

Although she can't offer physical exams, Thriault Sehgal said she can do visual exams for problems such as rashes, and she can provide prescriptions for ailments she's able to diagnose virtually, including mental health issues.

I'm just a small part of the solution.- Lynne ThriaultSehgal

She will tell people they should go to other services in the public health system when necessary, she said.

"I don't want to give sub-par care," she said. "I really want people to get the best access to care. If I think they need to be seen in person, I absolutely want them to be seen in person."

Before people can book an appointment, she's also created a screening algorithm to make sure they can be treated virtually.

If not, she said, a message on the screen will pop up and say, "Please go to the emergency room" or "Please be seen in person."

New Brunswick needs more nurses

The New Brunswick government has said the province is in desperate need of nurses, but some registered nurses who've left saythey were forced to move outside the province to find stable employment.

Last week, the Department of Health announced a 10-year strategy to fix the nursing shortage. The government said it's looking to hire more than 1,300 nurses over the next 10 years or 130 nurses each year.

The province currently has 8,000 nurses. There are more than 200 permanent, full- and part-time nursing vacancies at Horizon Hospitals across the province.

I'm just a small part of the solution," said Thriault Sehgal.

Difficult to find work

Thriault Sehgal said that after taking time off to stay home with her three young children she found there was no work available for her in the public system.

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"Once you're outside the system, it's very difficult to get back in," she said. "Most positions are posted internally and not externally."

For nine years, Thriault Sehgalhas worked as a nurse in isolated Indigenous communities acrossnorthwestern Ontario.She also spent fiveyears as a nurse practitioner in Sioux Lookout, Ont., and in Fredericton.

A two-tiered system

Although residents still need to present their medicare cards, the virtual practice is so new, there is no way of billing throughthe public health-care system, she said.

Thriault Sehgal said there's space for both public healthcare and a fee-based service in New Brunswick, but she's hopeful her services will eventually be covered under medicare.

For now, she said, it's a matter of convenience for some patients.

"For people that can't access with vehicles or have little kids at home, this could be a way of adding great benefits to the system at a reduced cost," she said.