NORTH RUSTICO, P.E.I. - When Ken and Dede Wilson needed medical care during their latest summer stay on P.E.I., they turned to a private-pay doctor service that has since drawn criticism from the premier and come under government review. “All of a sudden I got the most awful gut pain. And I didn’t know why,” Dede said. The British couple used PEIDoctor.com, which co-ordinates virtual, in-clinic and concierge physician appointments for international visitors, as well as eligible patients from Quebec who are willing to pay out of pocket. The business has prompted pushback over concerns about access to health care on the Island, with Premier Rob Lantz directing the province’s health department to “find a way to put a stop to it” earlier this month. In total, the Wilsons say they paid the business about $1,000 adding that cost is much cheaper than buying travel insurance to cover their entire months-long stay. How PEIDoctor.com works On the company’s website, a standard daytime virtual consultation costs $229, while having a physician visit a hotel, cottage or resort outside Charlottetown starts at $899. “We actually underpriced,” said Chief Executive Officer Marius Croeser, who is also director of EndWell Management Inc., the company’s holding corporation. The cost of a house call adds up quickly, he said, between the doctor’s $200 hourly rate, travel time, a driver and a vehicle. Croeser says PEIDoctor doesn’t sell services covered by P.E.I.’s public health insurance system. Instead, the business helps visitors who aren’t covered by the province arrange and pay for their own medical care. “A taxpayer on the Island doesn’t want our tax funds to be used to cover their (visitors) medical expenses. That’s just not fair,” he said. Croeser couldn’t share exactly how many patients the company has seen since beginning operations in July, but said it planned for up to 600 consultations during its pilot season, served by two doctors. They’re not employed by PEIDoctor, instead working independently. P.E.I. premier ‘outraged’ Earlier this month, Lantz took to Facebook, writing that like other Islanders, he was “outraged” by the business and its focus on for-profit medical services for tourists and non-residents. “They are doing so at the expense of providing care to Island families that need it,” he wrote on Sept. 10. Lantz also said he had directed the Department of Health and Wellness to review the matter. Croeser described the post as “unfortunate,” saying health authorities have been monitoring PEIDoctor’s operations from the outset. “It was probably an emotional reaction for not really understanding what we do,” he said. In a statement sent to CTV News this week, the premier’s office said the province’s review will assess the business’s impact on Islanders’ access to care and whether existing laws and policies meet their expectations of the health-care system. If gaps are found, the government says it will consider what action is needed to ensure health-care resources remain focused on residents. The review hasn’t deterred PEIDoctor.com’s plans to expand. Expansion despite pushback Croeser says the company hopes to grow its team to four or five physicians next year, with the goal of co-ordinating approximately 2,000 consultations, complemented by nursing support. Asked about the concern that his private business could draw doctors away from a public system where they’re desperately needed, Croeser appeared to agree. “I think it’s a legitimate fear. I think politicians need to be concerned about that,” he said. “The public system simply cannot compete with the private sector in terms of the opportunities, financial benefits available.” Croeser says salaried doctors on the Island typically have their working hours restricted, leaving some to take on additional work for private companies offering services such as telehealth in other provinces. “All we’re doing is capitalizing on bringing some of those hours back to the benefit of the Island,” he said, adding he believes those additional opportunities could also help attract and retain physicians. Medical care for visitors P.E.I. is coming off another record-breaking tourism season, welcoming about 1.87 million non-resident visitors in 2025, a 10 per cent increase over the previous year. The tourism industry is a major economic driver, with visitors spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year at hotels, restaurants and golf courses. Among them are people from abroad like the Wilsons, who know firsthand what it’s like to need a doctor while away from home. Like other international visitors, they have to pay out of pocket for care at P.E.I.’s public hospitals. An emergency room visit currently comes with a $1,088 price tag, plus physician fees. “(Visitors) need to know they can get medical care if they need it,” Dede said. Every year, they spend between three and six months in a North Rustico home that has been in Dede’s family since she was a child. Before their annual visit, the 81-year-old began taking two medications, one for blood pressure and another to thin her blood. Two weeks into their trip, she woke up in the middle of the night feeling unwell. Dede suspected she was having a reaction to the medications and began checking their possible side effects. She’s feeling better now, but is waiting on more medical imaging to assess any damage to her organs. The Wilsons say it’s hard to see how PEIDoctor could be putting the public health system at risk. “We wouldn’t want to be involved in a system that was to the detriment of Island people.”
