Virtual ER Visits Surge, Saving Millions Across Canada

As of July 31, 2025, hospitals across Canada are facing an unprecedented crisis, with emergency departments experiencing over 1.14 million hours of closure since 2019. Ontario and Alberta have been hit especially hard, with rural ER closures and care disruptions becoming a regular occurrence.

In response, Rocket Doctor's virtual ER diversion program has been providing a scalable solution to this challenge. At Georgian Bay General Hospital in Ontario, the program has successfully connected over 3,000 patients with MDs since June 2022, with an impressive 97.5% of cases managed virtually and only 1% redirected to the ER. This has resulted in an estimated $1.4 million in savings, based on the average cost of $475 per ER visit.

Rocket Doctor's platform combines smart patient-provider matching, branded hospital intake pages, and flexible staffing models to support hospital partners. In Alberta, the company has facilitated over 12,000 patient visits with MDs in the past 3 months, with 98% of cases resolved virtually and less than 1% sent to the ER.

"We see so many patients in our rural, remote and even urban communities going to ED, often when they recognize that they could be seen outside the hospital," said Dr. William Cherniak, CEO of Rocket Doctor. "By leveraging smart triage and other digital tools, we're able to pair patients with the right physician based on their needs, empowering them to order labs, imaging, make specialist referrals, or escalate care to in-person options when clinically necessary."