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Telehealth
Telehealth is the use of communications and information technology to deliver health and health care services, information and education where participants are separated. Telehealth can help to improve access by overcoming barriers of geography, transportation infrastructure, or socio-economic disparity. It can be used to collect, organize, and share information for patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. It can also be used for research, education, and administration.
Telehealth allows people living in locations that are remote from medical specialists to receive assessment and care planning over a videoconferencing system rather than traveling to access the same services. All telehealth services are provided over a secure network so that privacy is ensured. Access to services can be obtained in a timelier manner while avoiding travel expenses.
When a patient is hospitalized far from home, the Telehealth Program can offer support. There are times when families and other loved ones cannot leave home to be present at the hospital. Telehealth allows the possibility of virtual visits with family members when they cannot be present. The ability to visually connect can aid in the patient’s recovery and general feeling of well being.
Telehealth at Children’s and Women’s
The Telehealth Program at Children’s and Women’s has been active since 1997. A number of clinical program areas host and participate in clinical consultations, continuing medical and professional education, and administrative sessions with rural and remote sites in the province, using videoconferencing. The majority of these sessions are hosted by clinical staff based at Children's and Women's. More than 40 BC communities have accessed the services. Examples of active clinical services include:
- live fetal ultra sound interpretation by perinatologists
- multidisciplinary eating disorder therapy sessions
- adolescent psychiatric consultations
- pediatric cardiac rounds with patient case review and treatment planning
- pediatric swallowing and seating assessment by rehabilitation staff
Multiple continuing professional education sessions are hosted through Children's and offered to communities across the province. Recurring monthly sessions include:
- obstetrical multidisciplinary rounds
- maternal fetal medicine rounds
- general pediatric rounds
- psychology rounds
- child rehabilitation rounds
Pediatric intensive care and cardiac services lead weekly round case discussion with their peers in Victoria. Pediatric neurology and oncology programs host and participate in provincial and national rounds at a minimum on a quarterly basis. Other pediatric specialty programs such as the Urology Program participate in national education initiatives.
For information on accessing these rounds, please contact the Telehealth Office at 604-875-3498.
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