Project Title: Policy Implications of Geography and Scope of Services for Telehealth 

Research Team:
Deber, R.
Dick, P.
Jennett, P.
Kraetschmer, N.
Pong, R.

This project, funded by Health Canada's Office of Health and the Information Highway (OHIH), examined the macro policy issues and implications of Telehealth services around boundaries (federal/provincial/regional), and scope of service. It formed the basis for the PhD thesis of M-THAC fellow Nancy Kraetschmer.

Why, despite enthusiasm, is telehealth still a relatively minor part of healthcare delivery in many health systems? This project examined two less-considered policy issues: the scope of services being offered by telehealth and how this matches existing arrangements for insured services; and how telehealth services, which allow barriers associated with geography to be minimized, are managed in a system organized and financed on provincial/regional boundaries. It addressed the following research questions: How do telehealth programs address the complexities that arise from the conflict between a health care system oriented towards geographically-based coverage and the ability of telehealth to erode distance and access barriers? What types of services do Canadian telehealth programs currently offer? How well does the scope of services currently being offered match existing definitions of insured services? How are telehealth services currently financed? What do these findings mean for the ability to integrate telehealth services into the Canadian health care environment?

Selected Publications:

• Deber, RB,, Kraetschmer, N, Dick P, Jennett P "Policy Implications for Geography and Scope of Services for Telehealth. Final report. Ottawa: Health Canada, Knowledge Development and Exchange (KDE)Applied Research Initiative, December 2003. Available for download from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/pubs/kdec/on_geograph/index_e.html, last accessed 27 February 2007.

Selected Presentation:

• Kraetschmer N, Deber R, Dick P, Jennett, P. "Policy Implications of Geography and Scope of Services for Telehealth" The 1st Conference of the Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR), Montreal PQ, May 25-28, 2004.