Telemedicine is helping to overcome the vast geography and human resource challenges of Northern Ontario, health professionals heard at the Northern Telemedicine Forum Oct. 30.

“We’ve expanded the number of Northern telemedicine sites – now 261 in the northeast region,” said Louise Paquette, CEO of the North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).

“I’m very proud to say that telemedicine is a critical part of the North East LHIN’s plan to improve access to care for all Northeastern Ontarians. In fact, the northeast is the highest user of the technology among Ontario’s LHINs.”

Paquette addressed some 100 health professionals in Sudbury, and was video-linked in to another group of 55 in Thunder Bay, at start of the second annual Northern Telemedicine Forum.

As “ambassadors of connectivity,” they are improving care in this part of the province, she told them.

The forum focused on sharing best practices concerning the use of this videoconference technology for a wide range of services, including radiation oncology, geriatric cognitive assessments, bariatric consultations, training sessions, primary care and mental health counselling.

A joint event hosted by both the North East LHIN and the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN), its CEO Ed Brown presented the latest numbers for the northeast and northwest part of the province.

This past fiscal year, telemedicine prevented patients from having to travel 108 million kilometres, saving $45 million and 30 million kilograms of pollution.