Dr. Stanley P. Kutcher
Associate Dean International Medical
Development and Research
Dalhousie University
The
future of telehealth in Canada can be conceived as both national
and international. Nationally, continued advances in technology
and both federal/provincial government support will allow for the
distributed delivery of even tertiary care services (such as neurosurgery).
Rural communities will have more equitable access to wider domains
of health services. The delivery of education to both professionals
and consumers alike will enhance the quality of health care throughout
Canada and will link our medical schools to the entire country.
With the use of “in home” technologies, home care as an easily provided
essential service will become a reality. In addition, the use of
home based technologies with forward storage and predictive modeling
can even be expected to advance prevention of acute illness events.
Internationally,
Canadian telehealth will allow us as a nation to address global health
inequities and by so doing; help us define a new international niche
as a leader in science, technology and the building of civil societies.
This will be most productively addressed in the developing world and
is consistent with the Prime Minister’s recent “Reply to the Speech
from the Throne” in which the future international role of Canada
is shaped as a moral challenge towards building democratic societies.
In this way, Canadian telehealth will become an integral part of enhancing
global health and thus improving living standards and security for
all.
We
have much to offer others. We have the capability and capacity to
advance the health of Canadians and global citizens alike. We now
need to harness this energy, direct it and use it wisely.
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