Check Out Telehealth Revolution at CTF Symposium!

Grant Gillis
Executive Director, Forums & Practices
COACH: Canada's Health Informatics Association

 

 

 
 

In the modern age of patient empowerment and convenience, telehealth has become a necessity and a standard across many parts of Canada. Telehealth is the use of secure information and communications technologies to put patients and health professionals in touch, allowing live consultations, diagnosis and support without the need to travel. There are approximately 200 telehealth facilities across British Columbia alone, and thousands across Canada.   

As documented in the 2013 Canadian Telehealth Report (PDF), the use of telehealth solutions is growing across Canada, especially in remote and isolated areas. Most physician assessments take less than five minutes, while travel time to and from a clinic can take up to several hours. Transportation to clinics may be challenging for some patients, especially those living in remote parts of the province.

It has been an exciting year for the field, constantly growing and revolutionizing healthcare through teledietics, telepharmacy and telerehabilitation. Telepsychiatry is now the most commonly delivered clinical service in Canadian telehealth and home telehealth is evolving and improving outcomes for chronic disease management.  

On behalf of the CTF and the Symposium Task Force, we are excited about the 2014 edition of the CTF: Canadian Telehealth Forum Symposium at e-Health June 1. The growth of new telehealth programs and services across Canada has many implications for our healthcare environment. Now, we must shift our focus towards managing the impacts of telehealth.

The 2014 Symposium will showcase engaging presentations from leading practitioners in Canada’s telehealth community plus offer an exciting showcase of new telehealth technology and solutions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Symposium Highlights

Dr. Mo Watanabe Lecture: Patient Self-Care as the Catalyst for Telehealth
Dr. Joe Cafazzo, PhD, PEng, Lead for the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation

  • Named in recognition of Dr. Mo Watanabe, the Founding President of CTF.
  • The presentation will focus on the growth in patient “self-care” and how it has acted as a catalyst for telehealth. Here’s a teaser: “The future of telehealth is bright with patients as active partners in their own care.”

This Best Practices session on Balanced Scorecards for Telehealth will feature an interactive dialogue on the topic of metrics/indicators that incorporates a Balance Scorecard approach for the evaluation of telehealth programs.

UHN’s Approach to a Balanced Scorecard for Telehealth
Dana Chmelnitsky, MBA, BMR(PT), PMP Manager, Telehealth Programs/UHN-SIMS

  • UHN recently implemented a comprehensive telehealth-specific Balanced Scorecard evaluation framework that incorporates key quality indicators based on the NTOIP/NIFTE Telehealth guidelines 

A Balanced Scorecard for First Nations Telehealth – KO Telemedicine’s Experience
Orpah McKenzie, HBScB, Director of eHealth Services, KO Telemedicine

  • KO Telemedicine Program’s Balanced Scorecard Program is based on the vision to improve health for all First Nations communities through a telemedicine program that is holistic, community driven and culturally appropriate.

Luncheon Keynote: International Trends in Health Information Technology
Tobias Samo, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer, International & Patient Safety Officer, Allscripts

  • Dr. Samo will discuss the challenges and impacts on healthcare due to our growing global population – many of these issues are universal.

For more information, please contact Grant Gillis, ggillis@coachorg.com, or visit the Symposium page

Click here to Register for the CTF Symposium.

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