Report: Telemedicine saves Canadians $125M in travel, reaches remote populations

Increasing numbers of U.S. physicians say they use video conferencing to consult with patients, with a recent study finding 7 percent use some form of UC. Still they're far behind their Canadian counterparts in using telemedicine to extend care to remote patients.

A new study said Canada counts 5,700 telehealth systems in at least 1,175 communities across the country.

"Across the country, use of telehealth is growing rapidly, bridging the distance between patients and their care providers," said Dr. Jennifer Zelmer, SVP of Clinical Adoption and Innovation at Canada Health Infoway. "Canadians do not have to travel as often to receive care, and the study reports improvements in access to care, quality and productivity valued at millions of dollars last year."

The study found that the technology used allowed medical personnel to connect with patients using videoconferencing linkups and to connect primary care doctors to consult with specialists, even allowing them to transmit live images for assessment. Technology was also used to collect patient data remotely for monitoring by care givers.

More than a quarter of a million telehealth sessions were conducted in 2010, according to the study, Telehealth Benefits and Adoption - Connecting People and Providers Across Canada, with more than half of them used to care directly for patients living in remote areas, saving $70 million in patient travel expense and an additional $55 million saved by the health system.

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