• Increases access to specialty services for rural patients.
• Allows the patient to stay in their own community rather than traveling.
• Decreases the number of cancelled appointments due to weather/travel conditions.
• Allows for other caregivers to participate, including teachers, youth workers, or home care staff who would otherwise not be free to travel.
• Reduces time for investigation, diagnosis and treatment through quicker consultations.
• Provides for real time second opinions.
• Increases access to health education opportunities for the public.

Practitioner Benefits

• Increases the scope of services available in rural primary care facilities.
• Improves continuity of care.
• Reduces professional isolation.
• Improves access to health care providers for remote and rural practitioners.
• Provides greater access to continuing medical education.
• Allows for digital and video storage of consultations for teaching and offline review.
• Increases educational opportunities for other health care professions, such as nursing and physiotherapy.
• Allows family physicians, other professionals, and caregivers providing a continuum of care to the patient to be present during the consult.
• Physicians being present in specialist consults provides for teaching opportunities in the treatment process, leading to a greater breadth of experience.

Regional Health Authority Benefits

• Assists in maintaining the role of the primary care institution within the regional health authority, such as with specialist care including obstetrics.
• Facilitates continuity of care with a team approach to health care, even between distant locations.
• Increases staff productivity and efficiencies by reducing travel time for physicians and health care providers.
• Reduces overall training expenses as it increases exposure to specialists to a greater number of staff and health care providers.
• Reduces patient transfers to other regional health authorities.
• Increases educational opportunities for all staff and physicians, due to decreased financial demands (travel, meals, and accommodations).

Health Care System Benefits

• Reduces duplicate tests, which are often required to ensure accuracy when a patient is transferred from a rural hospital to another site.
• Reduces patient transfer charges when ground or air ambulance service and medical taxis are utilized to obtain services not available in their regional health authority.
• Reduces travel budgets for health care providers.
• Reduces staffing costs of health care providers who temporarily replace those who are traveling.
• Helps attract and maintain medical resources in rural areas.
• Facilitates communication between regional partners.
• Increases productivity despite limited resources.
• Reduces costs without impacting patient care.