Wait times for specialist consultation in Nova Scotia are unacceptably long. This means that patients suffer needlessly. Medical conditions can worsen while they wait to see specialists. The burden to care for these complex conditions falls entirely on family doctors. This is not fair.

Virtual Hallway is a solution. By providing an efficient and rapid system of specialist consultation, Virtual Hallway:

· Provides family doctors with rapid advice

· Allows for more streamlined approach to investigation and treatment

· Avoids unnecessary delays and suffering for patients

· Provides compensation to physician parties

Virtual Hallway is a physician owned and operated service, led by psychiatrists Drs. Jacob Cookey, Luke Napier, Daniel Rasic and health care innovator Justin Hartlen. The service started based on their observation that patients were waiting far too long for specialist consultation and that these delays were leading to more chronic, and disabling conditions. In speaking with family physicians, they saw that these doctors were trying their best against a system that was inefficient, and slow to change. The idea was that specialist input earlier on in a course of illness could streamline a person’s treatment, and optimize their care.