Sad, but true, I spent a chunk of Sunday afternoon browsing two ehealth-promoting sites with similar aims:
“We aim to help professionals achieve the most efficient use of resources available for the provision of health services, through the use of more technology and the new methodologies that are being developed.”
UKeHealth Association
“The Canadian Society of Telehealth assumes a leadership role in the transformation of health and healthcare delivery through Telehealth by providing a forum for advocacy, communication and sharing of resources among communities of interest.”
Canadian Society of Telehealth
Here’s what I thought of them
Once you are past the flash intro, the UKeHealth Association (UKeHA) site is dull and static. Latest news? 1 March 2006. Events? “There aren’t any upcoming events in our database.” Latest online newsletter? August 2005. In fact, one wonders whether the Association still functions, or whether members have become fed up paying hefty fees for little return and are putting their money into Continua Alliance membership instead. If it has any embers of life left, the Association must be ripe for a takeover by a more active organisation.
The Canadian Society of Telehealth (CST) site is up-to-date and lively. On the home page you will not only find links to past and future conference information, but documents (some available to the public), special interest groups and – something I’ve not even attempted – topical podcasts that summarise relevant ehealth research and stories*. The cost of corporate memberships is based on the number of people you wish to sign up, not on the level of influence you wish to have in the organisation.
*Hear an excellent, entertaining history of telemedicine in Canada and projection into the future with the October 13th podcast. Find the link on the CST home page.
On behalf of the CST I thank you, Steve, for your compliments. It is most encouraging to learn that we are perceived to be “up-to-date and lively”. An organization that is dependent on volunteer labour to maintain its activities is often hard pressed to be successful, but our annual conferences (Vancouver, Oct 3-7 in 2009) are always well attended and attract considerable attention. We have been fortunate to benefit from support from Elluminate (www.elluminate.com) so that we are able to host educational events for our members between major face-to-face meetings.
Telehealth in Canada is moving into the mainstream of healthcare delivery and the CST provides a valuable forum for those engaged across the wide spectrum of modes of delivery from telecare to telemedicine to patient portals.