Doctoring via video

Dr. John O’Connor, and his wife Charlene, a nurse, now live in Port Clyde and have an office at the Community Health Centre in Barrington.

Every Monday afternoon, the couple travels to the Yarmouth Regional Hospital to be connected via the telehealth department video system to Fort McKay in northern Alberta.

The O’Connor’s spent close to nine years practicing medicine in the area and are delighted to stay ‘connected’ thanks to technology that would likely have the doctor for whom the town was named for in 1820 (Dr. Williams Morrison McKay) shaking his head in astonishment.

If not for this service, the community of between 500 and 750 would not have a ‘regular’ doctor.

Home care nurse Maureen Boyes and community health nurse Theresa Maffenbeier assist Dr. O'Connor on site at the Fort McKay health clinic, explaining the process, handling the paperwork and controlling the camera as it scans each patient.

“The majority of responses have been very positive,” said Maffenbeier.

“Initially there were a few people that said ‘oh boy, is this ever weird’. But for the most part they are quite happy with it.”

After greeting and putting a patient at ease, Dr. O’Connor begins to ask questions.

“Have you lost or gained any weight? Are you sleeping well? Are you having any headaches, chest pains, shortness of breath, abdominal symptoms, or painful joints? Is there any family history of illnesses?”

In the near future a video-connected stethoscope and otoscope will be available at the clinic. Assistants will be able to put the stethoscope to a patient’s heart so the physician can listen.

Maffenbeier pans the camera over the patient’s skin and Dr. O’Connor notes the paleness. He asks Maffenbeier to check for edema (swelling) on the lower legs. Soon a AMD hand-held camera, commonly used in dermatology, will be available at the clinic to provide even better video.

Dr. O’Connor suspects hypothyroidism especially since the patient’s mother and two sisters have it. A requisition for blood work is faxed to the clinic and results will be available in three days.

Every six to eight weeks Dr. O’Connor and Charlene fly to Alberta to follow up on these patients, conduct clinics in Fort McKay and do hospice work in Fort McMurray.

He admits there are limitations to the technology.

“If someone comes in and they’ve got a mass below the skin, you can’t feel that and doing a pre-natal examination is difficult,” he said.

“For those cases I have a doctor who joined me in practice in Fort McMurray. If there’s a patient that comes in and needs to be seen hands on and can’t wait to be seen by us, then he will see them.”

Barb Clairmont, telehealth facilitator at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital says prior to Dr. O’Connor’s use as a “provider” the telehealth department was only used for education purposes and consultation between patients and specialists.

“It’s common for specialists to use this technology, but not general practitioners,” she said.

“This is sort of a pilot project trying to show the need and to show that it can work so we can go beyond.”

The telehealth sessions began on Oct. 22 and will continue until March 31.