Mr. Chairman, members of the standing committee are disappointed that there were no funds in the capital acquisition plan to expand the Telehealth Program into other communities in the 2002-2003 fiscal year. Members could get no sense of the department's enthusiasm for telehealth in the discussions with the Minister and his officials.

The standing committee is concerned that the department could not justify the expansion of the Telehealth Program over other seemingly less important capital projects. Members believe that if an established program like telehealth cannot survive the capital priority setting exercise, the system for allocating capital funding is fundamentally flawed.

Members believe that telehealth provides an opportunity for faster diagnosis and treatment that lowers chronic care costs in the long run. It is noted that the department has budgeted $200,000 under operations expense for systems enhancements to the existing Telehealth Program. Members hope that the changes brought about by the implementation of the action plan will provide the department with an opportunity to refocus and expand the program in subsequent years.