A survey in Alberta and Quebec of the telehealth applications that physicians need

Abstract

We studied the utility of various telehealth applications to support practice in rural and remote regions from the physicians' point of view. A postal survey was conducted among physicians from rural and remote regions of Alberta and Eastern Quebec. A total of 321 questionnaires were returned (13% response rate), comprising 180 from Quebec (16%) and 141 from Alberta (11%). Differences in the perceived utility of telehealth applications were explored using univariate and multivariate analyses. Telehealth applications were grouped into four categories: (1) asynchronous; (2) synchronous; (3) education; and (4) access to health information. The perceived utility of each application varied significantly between provinces. However, the two categories of telehealth applications perceived to be the most relevant were the same in both provinces: access to health information and applications for tele-education.