Executive Summary

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Nations Action Plan; the Aboriginal Health Blue; Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.430.8642; http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/viewFile/433/457/

It is the AFN’s position that a 100 % investment ratio will enable and accelerate First Nations telemedicine services. This position is based on nation-wide consultations with First Nations, key informant interviews with provincial telemedicine principals and Canada Health Infoway Incorporated’s (CHII’s) investment record. The AFN asserts that CHII plays two complementary roles as an investor in First Nations Telehealth. The first role is enabler. CHII fulfills this role by investing in documentation, best practices, change management and management tools that reflect First Nations and Aboriginal circumstances, conditions and service models. The latter role is to “directly contribut[e] to increased utilization and expansion of telehealth services.in identified areas of need such as Aboriginal communities.” The latter role addresses the need to prioritize telehealth service development in rural and remote First Nations and to accelerate their participation in regional health authority, provincial and federal telehealth systems and networks. While CHII has achieved some success as an enabler, its catalytic capacity is less clear. Accordingly, the AFN is concerned that the CHII telehealth investment program and criteria are dis-incenting First