More residents living in the Central East LHIN will benefit from specialist care closer to home as the LHIN supports its health service providers to recruit 20 new telemedicine nurses to expand care delivery.
For patients this will mean improved access to health care, less travel and an increase in the types of health care services available at more than 80 telemedicine sites across the LHIN’s Scarborough, Durham and North East clusters.
In the Central East LHIN, health service providers using telemedicine are working together to share best practices and expertise to improve the quality of care being delivered to patients. Already hospitals, community health centres and community agencies are linking up to support patients in the LHIN’s Geriatric Assessment Clinics, chronic disease programs and mental health and addiction services.
Telemedicine nurses use the latest technology for virtual patient consultations, assessments, training and knowledge exchange. Using telemedicine, health care professionals are able to deliver clinical care using live, two-way videoconferencing systems and related diagnostic equipment. Patients and health care practitioners are able to speak together and information such as blood pressure, respiratory function and test results can be instantaneously transmitted.
Telemedicine services are made available through OTN (Ontario Telemedicine Network), a world leader in telemedicine. OTN facilitates the delivery of care for patients in hundreds of health care locations across the province, as well as distance education and meetings for health care professionals and patients. An independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario, OTN is committed to improving access and quality of care.
QUOTES
“I am so pleased to know that the residents of northeast area of the LHIN are benefitting from these new services. The government’s goal of ensuring close to home access to vital health services is clearly attainable when dedicated doctors, nurses and other health care professionals can work together over these types of electronic networks to care for their patients” - Jeff Leal, MPP Peterborough
“These new nursing positions and telemedicine sites are improving access to care for the residents of Central East LHIN. By investing in this technology and the people who use it, we can ensure that local residents continue to receive high quality, seamless health care so close to home.” - Deborah Hammons, CEO, Central East LHIN
“Telemedicine tears down geographic barriers and increases access to much-needed health care services. For patients, it means greater peace of mind knowing that medical knowledge and expertise are easier to access with the help of this technology.” - Dr. Ed Brown, CEO, Ontario Telemedicine Network
QUICK FACTS
- The Central East LHIN is providing over $1 million to local health service providers to support the hiring of new telemedicine nurses.
- There are 80 OTN sites and 132 active systems across the Central East LHIN.
- In 2011/12, the use of telemedicine in Ontario saved an estimated $44 million in avoided travel costs.
- More than 3,000 health care professionals across more than 1,400 sites in Ontario use OTN to deliver care to their patients. This year, OTN will support more than 200,000 patient visits.
LEARN MORE
For more information about OTN, please visit: www.otn.ca.
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Quelle/Source: Northumberland View, 18.07.2012
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