Ontario Telemedicine Network Turns 10

Its hard to believe that 10 years have passed since the Ontario Telemedicine Network was launched.  Perhaps even harder to believe is that the early promise of telemedicine is now being realized with over 350,000 annual patient visits occurring through virtual technology in Ontario alone.  

Way back in 2005, I had the good fortune to work closely with three pioneers in the field of Telemedicine to craft a proposal to Ontario's then Minister of Health, George Smitherman, to amalgamate Ontario's three existing telemedicine networks into the Ontario Telemedicine Network.  Kathy Steegstra of Care Connect, Neil MacLean of Video Care, Ed Brown of NORTH Network and their respective Board Chairs,  showed incredible vision and leadership in seeing the potential of telehealth to transform the Ontario healthcare system.  Their willingness to work together and put aside regional differences, in the interest of public healthcare was essential to the success of our proposal and paved the way for the transformative work that OTN has been able to do over the past 10 years.

Congratulations to Ed, Kathy and Neil for your vision and to all who have driven the growth and success of OTN over the past 10 years.  

Cheers!