Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Further to my statement today, I'm wondering if the Minister of Health and Social Services would be able to inform the House of how much the cost of medical travel has increased over the last five years. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last five years, our medical travel has increased in our department by 43 percent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to what the top three reasons for the increase to medical travel costs are.
The top three reasons for the increase in medical travel -- well, she has asked for the top three; there are many. Medical travel is a complex program, but the top three reasons for the increase in the costs is, number one, the cost for transportation and accommodation has increased; prices for tickets and hotels are increasing. That's number one.
Number two is that we have a number of complex cases where patients require travel beyond Edmonton for more specialized care, and also for longer periods of time, as well as increased number of non-medical escorts who are accommodating patients to travel and, in part due to changes in the GNWT's medical travel policy, to provide these additional supports.
I am wondering if the Minister can speak to what the department is currently doing to address the high cost of medical travel in the Northwest Territories.
To reduce the need for medical travel, steps are being taken for residents to be able to access services in their home community or their region wherever possible. The department and the authorities are looking into identifying options to provide services in the Northwest Territories that residents currently have to travel south for. Some examples are injections for migraines, also the skin surveys, as well as allergy testing. These are some of the areas where our department is looking at efficiencies, as well as we continue to work with our telehealth care to reduce the need for patient to travel outside the community.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Does the Department of Health and Social Services have, or will it be developing, a virtual care strategy so that Northerners can have a clear understanding of the GNWT's view on its future role with Northwest Territories' healthcare system? Thank you.
Yes, the department is certainty looking at developing what we are calling a digital care strategy. This digital care strategy will help us make decisions when to use technology to improve patient care in the Northwest Territories. The virtual care enables health practitioners to meet with each other and with patients over distance will be a key component of this strategy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
