New Brunswick Extends Virtual Emergency Physician Pilot at Two Rural Hospitals to 2027

The Telegraph-Journal reports that Horizon Health Network has extended its virtual emergency care partnership with Teladoc Health Canada at Grand Manan Hospital and Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen until at least June 30, 2027 ^[1]. The pilot began in 2024 and was due to close on Sept. 30. According to a Horizon press release cited by the paper, it provides a remote physician three days a week to widen emergency department coverage and clinical capacity ^[1]. Local mayors welcomed the decision, while the New Brunswick Medical Society, which represents the province's doctors, restated its objections ^[1].

How the model is staffed

Patients are triaged on arrival. If they consent, a credentialed emergency medicine physician working with Teladoc joins the encounter remotely, and an on-site nurse stays with the patient ^[1]. The service runs in the evenings and overnight on Grand Manan and in the afternoons at Charlotte County Hospital. A Horizon spokesperson said the hospitals' operating hours have not changed ^[1]. An earlier site in Sussex left the pilot because, with no on-call physician available, the arrangement did not lengthen emergency hours there, Health Minister John Dornan said in June 2025 ^[1].

What Horizon reports

All of the pilot figures in the story come from Horizon's press release and spokesperson, as relayed by the newspaper ^[1].

• More than 2,200 patients have seen a virtual physician across both sites since June 2025 ^[1].
• At Grand Manan, 96 per cent of patients seen virtually were fully treated by the virtual physician. The story gives no equivalent figure for Charlotte County ^[1].
• Teladoc physicians facilitated 15 ambulance transfers ^[1].
• About 5 per cent of Charlotte County Hospital patients were seen virtually in April 2026, a number the spokesperson offered as an indicator ^[1].
• Horizon says fewer patients left the emergency department without being seen, but the reporting gives no number for that reduction ^[1].

Horizon also reported that physicians described better work-life balance and that staff described gains in care quality, workflow and morale. The spokesperson said these findings came from survey results ^[1].

Why it matters for care teams

The central design feature is that the remote physician joins alongside an on-site nurse, and each virtual encounter sits inside triage and a consent step ^[1]. Greg Doiron, Horizon's vice president of clinical operations, said the pilot showed virtual care helps "when used thoughtfully and as a complement to in-person coverage" ^[1]. The Sussex outcome points the same way from the other direction: remote cover there could not extend emergency hours without local on-call support ^[1]. Grand Manan Mayor Bonnie Morse said residents valued the follow-up they received and that some problems, such as infections needing a prescription, could now be handled without extra hospital trips ^[1].

Cost is the open dispute. Dr. Carl Boucher, the medical society's president, said there are more efficient ways to expand physician access and argued that contracting a private company costs taxpayers a premium ^[1]. He also warned that offering incentives for virtual care that match or exceed in-person ones in rural community emergency departments sets a precedent ^[1].

What to watch

• Horizon says the extension is for refining the model, gathering data and exploring wider use across New Brunswick. Watch whether it publishes the data behind the without-being-seen claim and the staff surveys ^[1].
• Hospital pressure in St. Stephen remains high. Occupancy there has exceeded the 95 per cent threshold on all but 29 days of 2026, and Mayor Steven Backman says emergency service times are growing ^[1].
• A collaborative care clinic in the former Sobeys on King Street is now expected in early 2027 rather than early 2026. Demolition is complete and permitting is underway ^[1].

Limitations

The numbers come from a health authority press release reported in a news article. The story describes no comparison period, control group or independent evaluation, so the figures cannot show that the pilot caused any change in outcomes ^[1]. The accounts of patient reassurance are a mayor relaying what she has heard, which makes them anecdotal ^[1]. The story reports no costs or contract terms, so the medical society's cost argument cannot be weighed from this source ^[1].