Telemedicine is a television screen on a stand that has cameras attached, plus a digital stethoscope, to share information with specialists in wound care, ear, eyes and throat, and skin conditions. The program allows people to meet with out-of-town doctors at the West Parry Sound Health Centre (WPSHC), saving them a trips to offices in Sudbury, Toronto and other sites.
Parry Sound was already a heavy user of the system, but now it’s being utilized even more, said officials.
OTN
The Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) has been available in Parry Sound for 10 years, but it was only with funding from the North East Local Health Integration Network (NELHIN) that a nurse was hired four months ago to help patients with the system. Before then, people were on their own if a hospital staff member wasn’t available.
“(Patients) couldn’t use the stethoscope, so all the extra pieces that the physician needed weren’t provided,” said Anne Litkowich, the health centre’s chief nursing officer.
The telemedicine conferences also used to be held in the ambulatory care department.
On Friday, the health centre introduced telemedicine coordinator Kathy Hamer and unveiled a new space set aside for video conferencing between doctors and patients.
“We’ve been able to provide the community members with access to consultants out of town on a much quicker basis,” said Hamer, who used to work in the emergency department and intensive care unit at the health centre.
Dermatology
She gave the example of dermatology, where someone could wait a year to see a specialist in person at their office, but can meet with them remotely within 24 hours.
In Ontario last year, over 200 million kilometres in travelling to see out-of-town doctors were avoided through the program, said Ontario Telemedicine Network chief executive officer Dr. Ed Brown, who joined the official opening of the new room on screen from his Toronto office.
Travel grant
“Basically the Northern Health Travel Grants program avoided a lot of costs, we estimate they may have avoided $45 million in costs across northern Ontario in avoided travel,” said Dr. Brown.
Not only is there a travel cost savings, but also fewer lost wages for patients and those taking them to appointments, plus no hotel and food expenses and missed appointments due to weather, said Litkowich. “More importantly though, they’re seeing their consultants quicker using this technology and the consultants are benefiting because they are able to see more patients daily using this equipment,” she said.
In the area served by the North East Local Health Integration Network, there are 260 telemedicine sites, said director Leah Welk, and it has provided funding for 29 new telemedicine nurses, including one in Parry Sound.
“We hope that more Parry Sounders will ask their primary care providers about telemedicine and whether it might help with their health care needs. Telemedicine is a very patient-centred form of health care - using technology to bring health care professions into communities where they might not ordinarily practice and bringing people the care they need when they need it,” said Welk.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sarah Bissonette
Quelle/Source: Cottage Country Now, 08.08.2012
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