Ontario's auditor general says the province's expansion of virtual patient care is moving too slowly.
Bonnie Lysyk makes the finding in one of the 13 value-for-money audits presented in her annual report today.
She says the process of integrating virtual care services with the province's health-care system has been slow and that work will need to accelerate after the pandemic ends.
Lysyk also found that an increasing number of people living in retirement homes require a higher level of care that would be better provided in a long-term care facility.
The audit says 26 per cent of people requiring a long-term care home placement were waiting in retirement homes, up from 23 per cent four years earlier.
In another audit, Lysyk's office found that consumers are not adequately protected from high pressure sales tactics when purchasing funeral services in Ontario and are often not provided with key pricing information.
Lysyk also notes in an audit of Ontario's cannabis regulator that most recreational pot sold in the province continues to be purchased illegally _ accounting for almost 80 per cent of sales in 2019-2020.