Telephone health used by half a million - Health - Telehealth Ontario - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

TORONTO -- More than half a million calls have been made to Telehealth Ontario since the 24-hour, seven-days-a-week service was launched in February 2001.

About 14 per cent of callers were referred to a hospital emergency department as non-urgent patients, most often because they did not have a family physician or clinic available.

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care reports show that:

* almost 40 per cent were repeat callers,

* about one-third were advised to visit their physician,

* about 40 per cent of calls concerned those 15 years of age

* the top five reasons for calls seeking advice were nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, fever in children between three months and three years, cough and cold, and rash.

Most of the calls seeking health information were about topics such as childhood communicable diseases, vaccinations and fever.

Callers speak to a registered nurse who may answer questions, help decide whether to administer self-care, provide phone numbers of community agencies or recommend a visit to a doctor or hospital emergency department.

Besides English, the most requested languages are French, Cantonese and Mandarin. 416-327-4327

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