Dr. Stanley P. Kutcher

Associate Dean International Medical
Development and Research
Dalhousie University

The future of telehealth in Canada can be conceived as both national and international. Nationally, continued advances in technology and both federal/provincial government support will allow for the distributed delivery of even tertiary care services (such as neurosurgery). Rural communities will have more equitable access to wider domains of health services. The delivery of education to both professionals and consumers alike will enhance the quality of health care throughout Canada and will link our medical schools to the entire country. With the use of “in home” technologies, home care as an easily provided essential service will become a reality. In addition, the use of home based technologies with forward storage and predictive modeling can even be expected to advance prevention of acute illness events.

Internationally, Canadian telehealth will allow us as a nation to address global health inequities and by so doing; help us define a new international niche as a leader in science, technology and the building of civil societies. This will be most productively addressed in the developing world and is consistent with the Prime Minister’s recent “Reply to the Speech from the Throne” in which the future international role of Canada is shaped as a moral challenge towards building democratic societies. In this way, Canadian telehealth will become an integral part of enhancing global health and thus improving living standards and security for all.

We have much to offer others. We have the capability and capacity to advance the health of Canadians and global citizens alike. We now need to harness this energy, direct it and use it wisely.