Everything you need to know about telehealth but were afraid to ask…

The COVID-19 health crisis moved telehealth forward worldwide. Today, the lessons and knowledge of the past two years have given us a solid foundation for current and future developments in this field. “Our team made significant progress. It has expanded and our expertise has grown. We have helped a number of directorates with telehealth-related projects that improve the accessibility of care for our users,” said Sylvain Charbonneau, Manager—Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Department with the Academic Affairs, Teaching and Research Directorate.

The Users Have a Part to Play
It is important to note that to better understand users and their satisfaction with the telehealth services they receive, they need to be involved at every step along the way. Patient-partners and their opinions are essential to implementing effective telehealth services and improving them as needed.

Telehealth or Telepractice?
“Telepractice is the remote delivery of services using information and communications technology, including the telephone and videoconferencing. Telehealth, on the other hand, is a means of organizing and providing services that creates a complementary virtual network of health and social services,” explains Mr. Charbonneau.

Now It’s Up to the Staff!
“In the heat of the moment, you can’t always see the potential and the benefits of telehealth. Our team is here to help you develop health care and social services that can be provided remotely so that we can deliver accessible and adapted options to our community,” he says.

Do you have questions about telehealth? Ask telesante.comtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca. For more information, you can refer to the telehealth guide and the dedicated SharePoint site.