There is increasing interest in the use of telemedicine to assist in the management of people with COPD. Telemedicine includes medical consultations, in-home monitoring, and remote rehabilitation. We provide telemedicine consultations for our patients who live too far from West Park to attend in-person consultations or follow-up appointments.

When we studied the first 5 years of this program, we found that we provided consultations to people living in 46 locations across Ontario as well as in Newfoundland, Alberta and New Brunswick. The patients located in Ontario were saved a total of over 70,000 km in travel which is approximately a $28,000 savings in travel-related costs.  
 
Take home message: Teleconsultation is a good alternative to in-person visits when assessing patients for pulmonary rehabilitation. It results in large cost savings and increased convenience for our patients. 

Publications

Teleconsultations for Pulmonary Rehabilitation