Rocket Doctor mischaracterized in article

We appreciate the recent discussion on Canadian virtual primary care models in Canadian Family Physician. We are writing to address mischaracterizations of Rocket Doctor in the article by Spithoff et al, “Typology of virtual primary care in Canada. Making the implications clear,” published in the November/December 2024 issue.¹

The article categorizes Rocket Doctor as a private, non-integrated, and privately funded virtual care model, implying it operates as a corporate practice group. This is incorrect. Rocket Doctor does not employ physicians or own clinics; rather, it provides technology and services that enable independent physicians to run their own practices while directly connecting with patients. Unlike corporate models, physicians retain full autonomy over their practices, including ordering investigations and managing continuity of care.

Additionally, the article suggests the Rocket Doctor model lacks integration with the public system.¹ In reality, Rocket Doctor partners with public health entities, such as the Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland, Ont, through a virtual emergency department, and in-person longitudinal family medicine practices in British Columbia, improving access to urgent and primary care.²

The platform also supports over 20 specialty clinics and enables collaboration between hundreds of independent physicians, ensuring comprehensive, patient-centred care. A total of 89% of all visits on Rocket Doctor across Canada are covered by provincial health insurance. Only in Ontario where, as the authors indicate, publicly funded virtual care was cut by up to 50% in December 2022 (largely impacting patients without primary care)³ are uninsured services offered on the platform. These privately paid visits comprise only 26% of all visits to Rocket Doctor in Ontario.

Research has shown the sustainability of our publicly funded model.⁴ A 2023 study conducted before the Ontario funding cuts found 94% of patients seen in Ontario were managed effectively virtually, without requiring in-person follow-up. Importantly, 40% of patients used physicians on the platform as their family doctors, entirely virtually, and only 1% were referred to an emergency department in the 3 days following a virtual visit.⁴ These data challenge assumptions that virtual-first care leads to fragmentation or increased health care use.

Rocket Doctor is proud to have partnered with hundreds of physicians to deliver safe, accessible, and largely publicly funded health care for over 500,000 virtual patient visits across Canada since its launch in 2020. To ensure an accurate representation of evolving care models, we encourage a reassessment of Rocket Doctor’s classification in future discussions, and more diligence when describing novel Canadian technological innovations.

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