COVID-19 induced surgery times tackled by new cross border business

Windsor, Ont. -

Outpatient Ontario launched in late October according to co-founder Martin Vrolyk who also serves as Vice-President of Communications.

"We see this as an opportunity for people to have a much better quality of life much sooner."

Vrolyk says lengthy wait times in Ontario for medical procedures and scans has always been an unfortunate reality explaining thousands of Ontario residents currently live in discomfort or pain while on a months-long waitlist for an elective surgical procedure.

"Things like knee replacements, hip replacements, hernia repair." Vrolyk adds, "Cataracts surgery is another one we hear a lot about."

Vrolyk says the COVID-19 pandemic has caused tens of thousands of surgeries and medical procedures to be delayed even further, telling CTV News he hopes their consulting company will offer patients an alternative.

"We’re starting just with border cities and border areas so we’ve been talking with people from Windsor, Sarnia, but also Chatham, London, really Southwestern Ontario." Vrolyk adds, "there are people reaching out to us already who are just living in discomfort or pain and hoping to find a much faster solution."

Clients are charged a $299 consultation fee. Outpatient Ontario then matches patients who are currently on a waitlist with a surgeon or diagnostic scan from their network of doctors and medical centers throughout Michigan.

"Now that the border is open is it certainly easier to get across, although for the most part people were getting across for medical appointments without issue.” Vrolyk says “The majority of people it’s reasonable for them to do this. It’s not crazy expensive. It’s more affordable than you may think."

According to a release available procedures include:

• Hernia repair
• Gallbladder removal
• Knee, shoulder, and ankle arthroscopy
• ACL reconstruction
• Shoulder repair (rotator cuff repair, labral repair)
• Hand surgery (carpal tunnel release, trigger release)
• Joint arthroplasty (hip and knee replacements)
• Cataract Surgery
• Colonoscopy
• EGD (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy)
• MRI’s

And more…

Vrolyk notes a wait of several months can be reduced to just a few weeks and is just a short drive away.

"I would hope that it’s embraced as a way to speed things up and to take some of the pressure off of the backlog of that system right now."