In my previous post on the ways OTN is linking the healthcare community in Ontario, I reviewed how the Northeast Cancer Centre (NCC) is using virtual care to improve both the patient and physician experience. Here are a few more examples of telemedicine in action:
- Neurotrauma follow-up: A patient in a remote community with post-injury epilepsy, cognitive impairments and mobility issues travelled alone every few months to Toronto for follow-up consultations with a neurologist. Anxiety related to travel and the disruption of the patient’s routine interfered with the progress and success of his recovery. When his follow-up appointments with the Toronto-based specialist became telemedicine consultations, his clinical experience improved, he was more relaxed and travel-stress was eliminated.
- Psychiatric or mental health consultations: Quantitative data are not in yet, but anecdotal data indicates that in cases of abuse, patients are more comfortable sharing their circumstances over a video screen with a specialist many miles away. A sense of safety develops when patients know that they will not encounter the psychiatrist at a local hockey game or grocery store.
- Cardiac rehab follow-up: Patient education and encouragement are central to postsurgical and post-heart attack rehabilitation. In Ontario, cardiac rehabilitation specialists are only available in large centres. The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre uses telemedicine to educate and support cardiac patients in remote northwestern communities, eliminating costly travel time and expenses.
Telemedicine Solutions Demo
Tune in for my next post where I review how telemedicine can be used for the General Practitioner.
This post is a modified excerpt from the whitepaper Telemedicine in Ontario: Fact not Fiction.
