Provider acceptance of telemedicine systems in remote areas of Ontario.

Telemedicine, the use of telecommunications technology to assist in the delivery of health care, is an increasingly popular solution to some of the problems faced by rural residents in obtaining health care. Since September 1, 1977, the Sioux Lookout Zone in northwestern Ontario has been experimenting with slow-scan video equipment as part of its health care delivery system. The attitudes of the providers who use the system were surveyed.

Mother-child separation: a study in a remote health care setting.

The literature indicates that the birth of a sibling and the consequent temporary separation from the mother is usually a stressful experience for a child. It was hypothesized that this stress would result in an increased number of visits by the child to health care facilities because of new health problems. In a controlled study of 89 matched pairs of Indian families in a remote region of northwestern Ontario this hypothesis was not supported.

The use of slow-scan video for CME in a remote area.

Since August 1977 a slow-scan video system has been operating in a remote area of northwestern Ontario, Canada. This system, using regular dial-up telephone lines, interconnects the local hospital, five remote communities, and two teaching hospitals in Toronto, 1,000 miles distant. Since August 1978 the system has been used on a regular basis for continuing medical education programs, graduate medical education including X-ray rounds, medical rounds, nursing rounds, in-service education, and patient education.