The
infraNET Project and
Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research
University of Waterloo
present ...
NORTH Network
and the Future of Telemedicine
by
Edward Brown, MD
Executive Director, NORTH Network
Sunnybrook and Women's
College Health Sciences Centre
Wednesday, October
27, 2004
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Davis Centre, Room 1302
University of Waterloo
This seminar is of
interest to Health and IT Executives, IS/IT Staff, Faculty and Students.
Abstract
The NORTH Network provides telemedicine
services in northern and central Ontario and supports over 100 sites,
including 65 hospitals, 11 nursing stations and three regional cancer
centres. The Network delivers a wide range of health services in areas
such as psychiatry, dermatology, cardiology, neurology, paediatrics
and geriatrics, as well as emergency services for stroke and burn
management. Telemedicine uses videoconferencing telecommunications and
electronic medical devices, such as digital stethoscopes, to virtually
connect patients to health professionals. There have been over 15,000
medical consultations through NORTH Network since its inception and
use continues to grow rapidly. This presentation will provide an
overview of how NORTH Network works, the successes and challenges, and
the exciting new applications which will transform our health care system.
Dr. Edward Brown is
an emergency physician and is the founder and Executive Director of the
NORTH Network Telemedicine Program which he has been developing since
1993. NORTH Network has recently completed a two-year, $20 million
expansion making it one of the largest telehealth networks in Canada. Prior
to founding NORTH Network, Dr. Brown worked as a consultant for the Ontario
Government's Smart Systems for Health initiative and was Associate
Faculty at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Ontario (ICES). Before
embarking on his medical career, Dr. Brown studied mathematics and
engineering at the University of Waterloo as a co-op student and
worked as a Systems Engineer at IBM Canada Ltd.
Dr. Brown is a member of the Operational Space Medicine Advisory
Panel of the Canadian Space Agency, Astronaut Office and currently
sits as a member of the Toronto District Health Council Systems & IT
Task Force. He has been a board member of the Canadian Society of
Telehealth since 2000 and is currently chair of the nominating
committee. Dr. Brown is the recipient of the 2003 CANARIE I-WAY award
for national leadership in the development of Canada's information
highway, "Application of Technology" category. He is also
the winner of Canadian Healthcare Manager magazine's 2003 "Who's
Who in Healthcare Award" in the "Technology" category.
For more information
Shirley Fenton
Managing Director, WIHIR
The infraNET Project
Computer Systems Group, University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4074
Seminar Hosts
This seminar is hosted by the Waterloo Institute for
Health Informatics Research (WIHIR) and The infraNET Project,
University of Waterloo.
The infraNET Project, initiated by the
University of Waterloo in 1996, is a partnership to advance Web and
Internet technologies. Its founding partners are: LivePage (now part
of Siebel), MKS, Open Text, RIM, Sybase (Waterloo) and Waterloo Maple.
We also gratefully acknowledge the
assistance of the Institute for Computer Research, University of
Waterloo.
