SFU Research Chairs & Endowed Professors Seminar Series: "Can low-cost technology be used to help manage high-cost chronic diseases?"

Abstract

Abstract: Approximately 2 in 5 Canadian adults have a chronic disease and this number nearly doubles in people over 65 years. With the ageing population and the coincident increases in chronic disease, there have been numerous calls for the 'transformation of health care' as our current model is likely to be unsustainable in the future. The use of technology in health care has been touted as a necessity in this transformation. However, despite the ubiquitous nature of a variety of low cost technologies (home computers/Internet, mobile phones, plain old telephone), the uptake into mainstream health care has been slow. The British Columbia Alliance on Telehealth Policy and Research (www.BCATPR.ca) has been working on a number models of care using low cost technology to support patient self-management and transitions of care. These current and proposed models have been designed to align with current health care practices and have the promise of ready uptake.