Province restores blood-work referrals to eVisitNB service

New Brunswick Health Minister Bruce Fitch says referrals for blood work will again be available through the online health service eVisitNB after being dropped last month.

During question period Thursday, Fitch said he asked staff to review why blood work was not offered anymore, and confirmed the service will be restored.

"When we see a problem, we see an issue, we're ready to change it," he said. "I'm pleased to announce that the service levels for eVisit will revert to the level that they were having prior to April 1."

Since the beginning of April, doctors and nurse practitioners on the app have been unable to refer patients for blood tests.

The people most affected by this were the 47,000 New Brunswickers on the Patient Connect wait list. Those patients have no access to primary care beyond eVisitNB, walk-in clinics and 811.

The service will be back on Monday.

Fitch said the change was made after feedback and discussion with staff.

Earlier this month,, Department of Health spokesperson Sean Hatchard said blood testing requires more in-depth followup and should be delivered in person. The lab referrals, available to people who have no health-care providers to see in person, stopped in April.

After Wednesday's question period in the legislature, Fitch said he was aware that contract negotiations were underway with Maple, the company that runs eVisit, but he said he did not sign off on the reduction of services. 

But he said department staff signed off on the contract, and he will be asking questions.

"I've asked staff to review that," he said.

Some New Brunswickers still waiting for a primary-care provider could have some access to primary care through a new program called Health Link.

The Health Department did not respond to questions about how many people are on the Health Link list. Fitch said "many people" have been added to it.

Unlike those on the Patient Connect list, those on Health Link are assigned a clinic they can call to make an appointment with a provider in-person or over the phone.