Telehealth in Canada: an Overview

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Telehealth in Canada an Overview
Sandra Chatterton, Senior Policy Advisor Office
of Health and the Information Highway Presentation
to 2004 CAPHC Annual Meeting 9 November 2004
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For more information

• sandra_chatterton_at_hc-sc.gc.ca
• or at 613-954-8769

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Presentation Overview

• Defining eHealth
• The health challenge
• A case for technology
• Models of care
• Lessons learned

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Definitions

• e-Health the over-arching term for the use of
  information and communications technology in
  health care
• Telehealth is the use of information and
  communication technology (ICT) to deliver health
  services, expertise and information over
  distance.
• Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a health
  record of an
• individual that is accessible online from many
  separate,
• interoperable automated systems within an
  electronic network
• Source Glossary of Telehealth Related Terms,
  Acronyms and Abbreviations, Health Telematics
  Unit, University of Calgary, 2002

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The Health Challenge
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The Impact of Geography

• Up to 30 of Canadas population lives in rural,
  remote and northern Canada, and are often
  under-serviced and have elevated
  morbidity/mortality rates
• Treatment in a hospital or by a specialist often
  requires air travel and extensive time away from
  home and family
• Shortages of qualified personnel
• Infrastructural gaps/weaknesses remain as
  challenges, particularly for remote, northern and
  aboriginal communities

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Sustaining Canadas Health Care System

• Public health expenditures projected to rise from
  31 in 2000 to 42 by year 2020 as a share of
  total provincial/ territorial government revenues
• Proportion of Canadians over the age of 55 will
  rise from 22 to 32 of the population by year
  2020

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Political Directions

• Information Highway Advisory Council 2 reports
• Advisory Committee on Health Infostructure
  Tactical Plan
• Canada Health Infostructure Partnerships Program
  (CHIPP)1999-2004 80M
• Canada Health Infoway 2000- 1.1B (155M for
  Telehealth)

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Does technology deliver?

• Quality service?
• Improved accessibility?
• Cost effective?
• Wheres the proof?

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Canada Health Infostructure Partnerships Program

• Patient-centered health care delivery.
• Integration of services across the continuum of
  health care.
• Strategic focus on telehealth and EHRs.
• Encouraged collaborative efforts among health
  care providers and across jurisdictional
  boundaries.
• Large-scale model projects to lay the building
  blocks for a nation-wide health infostructure.

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What CHIPP delivered

• Tested models of service delivery
• Evaluation indicators
• A Canadian community of telehealth
• A changed landscape

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The Benefits of Telemedicine

• Brings care closer to home
• Enhances accessibility
• Reduces costs
• Reduces waiting times
• Continuum of Care

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Telehealth Technology
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Connecting For Health
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Clinical Services

• Telemental health
• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Geriatric rehab
• Rheumatology
• Urology
• Genetics

• Geriatrics
• Paediatrics
• And so on
• Of particular note
• Teleradiology

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Clinical education and information

• Reduced isolation of health care providers
• Recruitment and retention of providers
• Evidence brought to the point of care
• Real-time consultations with other health
  professionals
• Variety of learning opportunities

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Lessons Learned

• Telehealth should be needs driven, not technology
  driven
• Attention must be paid to cultural differences,
  especially 1st Nation communities
• More economical/treatment but may increase
  overall health care costs due to great use of
  services
• It is a social process change management and
  risk mitigation strategies are critical

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Lessons Learned - continued

• Telehealth is a complement to, not a substitute
  for, in-person care
• It needs to be integrated as a health service
  option
• Inter-jurisdictional and inter-sectoral
  collaboration and interoperability are important
  for sustainability
• Privacy taken for granted by most clients
  until possible impacts are noted

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For more information

• Sandra_chatterton_at_hc-sc.gc.ca
• or at 613-954-8769