Telemedicine sees record use for mental health

A record 31,000 patients in northeastern Ontario were connected with mental health and psychiatric care last year using telemedicine.

At 61 per cent of all clinical telemedicine activity in the North East Local Health Integration Network (North East LHIN) region last year, that’s more than four times greater than the next highest uses (internal medicine and oncology), and up from 56 per cent the previous year.

Telemedicine is an eHealth solution that’s a critical part of the North East LHIN’s plan to improve access to care for all northeastern Ontarians, according to a press release from the organization.

It uses two-way videoconferencing through the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) to care for patients. The northeast is the highest user of the technology among Ontario’s 14 LHINs.

“As we heard time and again in our recent community engagement sessions, expanding technologically based solutions is one way to improve access to care for fellow northerners,” Louise Paquette, CEO of the North East LHIN, said in a press release.

“As we mark Mental Health Week, it’s important to consider innovative ways of providing access to mental health and addictions care, when and where these are needed.”

Clinical telemedicine activity in the northeast involves mental health and addiction services from Methadone treatment to psychogeriatric assessments, with participation from hospitals, family health teams, community agencies, and long-term care homes, the press release said.

In 2010-11, telemedicine helped northern Ontario patients avoid more than 61 million kilometres of travel, according to Ed Brown, head of the Ontario Telemedicine Network.

Posted by Arron Pickard