But thanks to the MBTelehealth program, the resident of The Pas is among thousands of northern Manitobans benefiting from technology that links remote patients with faraway specialists.
"It's way better for me because it's only a short time up at the local hospital instead of having to spend a couple of days to go up to Winnipeg and come back home," says Sodtke, 60, a well-spoken, white-bearded pastor.
Using a satellite or ground link, Telehealth allows medical professionals to see, hear and speak with patients in real time from more than 100 sites across Manitoba.
While Winnipeg and Brandon tap into the program, those who benefit the most are the far-removed 75,000 residents of the north.
"The value of Telehealth is indisputable, representing hundreds of thousands of dollars in saved travel costs," says Helga Bryant, CEO of the Nor-Man Regional Health Authority, which covers The Pas, Flin Flon and eight other northern communities. "But more important is the value of Telehealth as far as its convenience for the patient and their families in that they are not required to leave the community for these appointments."
Since coming to the north in early 2002, Telehealth usage has skyrocketed more than tenfold in Nor-Man and more than doubled in the Burntwood Regional Health Authority, which includes Thompson and most northern reserves.
"I think it's one of the best things that's happened to our region and the north, really," says Rajinder Thethy, chief financial and operating officer for Burntwood.
Sodtke, co-coordinator of a theological college in The Pas, became a patient nearly two years ago. Due to his enlarged prostate and elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen, his Winnipeg-based urologist orders blood tests three or four times a year to watch for signs of cancer.
His appointments are often brief, consisting of a review of the latest test results and discussion about any further steps needed.
Sodtke initially travelled to Winnipeg a couple of times but ended up missing a number of appointments because he was unwilling to take the time and lost wages just to review a test result.
That's when it was suggested he try Telehealth, and he eagerly took up the opportunity.
"Mostly the technology is very good and it's close to being there in the room with the other person, except you can't physically touch each other," Sodtke says.
As much as Sodtke benefits from Telehealth, he sees vast potential for smaller, more remote northern communities that, unlike The Pas, lack even a hospital.
A case in point is Telehealth's Reclaiming Hope program, which helps suicidal youth in Pukatawagan, Cross Lake, Berens River, Lac Brochet and God's Lake Narrows see the light.
Telehealth can be used for virtually any medical purpose where physical examination is not required. Most of the physicians on the other end of the screen are in Winnipeg, but Bryant notes there are opportunities to explore other sites.
But will a growing emphasis on modern machinery cause northern health care to lose its human touch?
"It's not a concern that I'm worried about," says Sodtke. "Even though you aren't in the same room, it is fairly personal. So I think it can still have the personal contact, the human contact. I mean, if I wanted to go visit a friend who was hospitalized, telephoning isn't the same as actually going to be there, but I think people understand that. Like any other technology, it's how you use it."
Aside from health applications, Telehealth is used broadly for educational sessions and video conferencing, saving northerners even more time and money.
When she reflects on the program, Bryant sees a difficult but exhilarating task in ensuring policies -- regionally, provincially and even nationally -- keep pace with the possibilities of Telehealth.
"Over my past almost four decades as a registered nurse, the advances I have seen made in technology on many fronts have been incredible," she says. "Equally impressive is the excitement I feel when I contemplate how technology will continue to influence the delivery of health care across the continuum of service delivery from educational sessions for health promotion and illness prevention, to specialist appointments, to robotic surgery between tertiary centres and highly specialized surgeons. I can hardly imagine the advances we will see over the next decade or two."
In terms of health care, it would seem the vast expanse of northern Manitoba will continue to get a whole lot smaller.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jonathon Naylor
Quelle/Source: Winnipeg Free Press, 12.04.2012
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