Telehealth program comes to Alberta's north

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The Nunee Health Authority's Telehealth Research Project in Fort Chipewyan will reduce the stress and expense of travel for patients who require minor medical attention. The project will transmit medical data, audio and visual images to the nearest health centre, which is in Fort McMurray. Telehealth, managed by Tecknowledge Healthcare Systems Inc., is responsible for telehealth programs in Rouyn, Que., Berens River, Man., Southend Sask., and Anahim Lake, B.C. as well. Many health services are centered around urban areas, which means that parts of the population have better access to health care services than in others. Telehealth will bring better service to rural communities.

"Essentially telehealth is a delivery of services using telecommunication information technology," said Robert Vigneault, TeleHealth consultant. "It is a means of connecting rural communities with larger, urban, specialized centres," he said.

The project uses video equipment to transmit medical images from the community to the Fort McMurray Regional Hospital. The medical staff in the community will be able to use live video conferencing to consult with specialists in Fort McMurray. A camera that sits on top of a 32-inch television set in each location is used.

"Esentially you can interact with people who are thousands of miles away. A rehabilitation specialist or therapist in Fort McMurray can have contact with both the patient and a rehab assistant in the community," said Vigneault.

Telehealth's co-ordinator Cookie Simpson is excited about the many ways this project can be used. In May, services such as speech, language therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy will be begin to be relayed between Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan. Services such as tele-counselling and tele-spirituality will link the community with spiritual Elders in Fort McMurray.

"What I'm trying to do is find spiritual Elders from Fort McMurray or Edmonton to link up to the patients here," said Simpson. "We could utilize their help. This may make it easier on the Elders instead of them flying all the way into the community," she said.

Telehealth will also help families in the community to visit with patients in Fort McMurray through the tele-visitation component.

"It helps relieve the stress level of the patients when they know that they can visit with their families in Fort Chipewyan," said Simpson. "In fact in the first visit Elders in the community were able to visit with Elders who are long-term patients at the regional hospital in Fort McMurray," she said.

"The Elders really like the project," said Simpson. "They had a lot of good things to say about this project," she said.

"I'm really excited that Fort Chip will get some recognition for this project. I have been impressed with the community's professionalism, commitment and energy from day one. It has been a pleasure working with them," said Vigneault.