Many rural areas are limited by a lack of access to health care due to the inherent challenges associated with recruitment and retention of health-care professionals. Communication between rural family physicians and urban specialists is essential. Telemedicine, which uses communication technology to deliver medical services over distance, is an economical and potentially effective way to address this problem.

Telemedicine technology can also be useful for teaching. However, expensive equipment can limit its deployment in resource-challenged settings.

Full-Time Faculty Researchers

Dr. Michael Parsons
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Chair, Assistant Program Director
mhparsons@mun.ca
 
Dr. Tia Renouf
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
tiarenouf@gmail.com
 
Dr. Peter Rogers
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
peter.rogers@med.mun.ca
 
Dr. Margo Wilson
Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
margo.wilson@med.mun.ca

Part-Time Faculty Researchers

Dr. Sarah Mathieson
Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
emergencymedadmin@mun.ca

Recent Publications

Wilson, M.M., Devasahayam, A.J., Pollock, N.J., Dubrowski, A., and Renouf, T. Rural family physician perspectives on communication with urban specialists: a qualitative study. BMJ Open 2021;11:e043470. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043470
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/5/e043470
 
Garland C, Wilson J A, Parsons M H, et al. (December 02, 2019) The Application of Low-fidelity Chest Tube Insertion Using Remote Telesimulation in Training Healthcare Professionals. Cureus 11(12): e6273. doi:10.7759/cureus.6273
https://www.cureus.com/articles/22062-the-application-of-low-fidelity-chest-tube-insertion-using-remote-telesimulation-in-training-healthcare-professionals
 
Aubrey-Bassler K, Fernandes C, Penney C, Cullen R, Meaney C, Sopcak N, Campbell-Scherer D, Moineddin R, Baxter J, Krueger P, Wilson M, Pike A, Grunfeld E, Manca D. The effectiveness of a proven chronic disease prevention and screening intervention in diverse and remote primary care settings: an implementation study on the BETTER 2 Program. BJGP Open. 2019 Oct 29;3(3):bjgpopen19X101656. doi: 10.3399/bjgpopen19X101656.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31581121/
 
Smith A, Addison R, Rogers P, Stone-McLean J, Hoover K, Boyd S, Pollard M, Dubrowski A, Parsons M. Remote mentoring of point of care ultrasound skills to inexperienced operators using Multiple Telemedicine Platforms- is a cellphone good enough? Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. 2018 Mar 25 2018 
https://doi.org/10.1002/jum.14609
 
Dunne, C. L., & Parsons, M. (2017). Management of Cold Water-induced Hypothermia: A Simulation Scenario for Layperson Training Delivered via a Mobile Tele-simulation Unit. Cureus, 9(12), e1990. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1990
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5826742/
 
Renouf, T., Parsons, M., Francis, L., Senoro, C., Chriswell, C., Saunders, R., & Hollander, C. (2017). Emergency Management of Tension Pneumothorax for Health Professionals on Remote Cat Island Bahamas. Cureus, 9(6), e1390. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1390
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5526702/
 
Wang S, Parsons M, Stone-McLean J, Rogers P, Boyd S, Hoover K, Meruvia-Pastor O, Gong M, Smith A. Augmented Reality as a Telemedicine Platform for Remote Procedural Training. Sensors. 2017; 17(10):2294. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17102294
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/17/10/2294
 
Herceg, C., & Renouf, T. (2016). Teaching Near and Far - Broome, Western Australia. Cureus, 8(11), e870. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.870
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5154398/
 
Baral, K., Allison, J., Upadhyay, S., Bhandary, S., Shrestha, S., & Renouf, T. (2016). Rural Community as Context and Teacher for Health Professions Education. Cureus, 8(11), e866. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.866
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5143305/
 
Mayer, H., & Renouf, T. (2016). Rural Medical Education in New Zealand. Cureus, 8(10), e826. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.826
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5106204/
 
Renouf, T., & Pollard, M. (2016). Emergency Medicine in Remote Regions. Cureus, 8(9), e774. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.774
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5059148/
 
Renouf T, Alani S, Whalen D, et al City mouse, country mouse: a mixed-methods evaluation of perceived communication barriers between rural family physicians and urban consultants in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. BMJ Open 2016;6:e010153. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010153
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/5/e010153