Dr. Ivar Mendez is honoured by Teladoc Health

TORONTO – Teladoc Health Canada is pleased to announce that Dr. Ivar Mendez (pictured), the director of the Virtual Care and Remote Presence Robotics Program at the University of Saskatchewan and Professor Emeritus of Surgery, was named the winner of the Teladoc Health Transformational Leadership Award.

The award, presented annually at Teladoc Health’s Forum event and held in Boston this summer, is given to individuals that are driving the adoption of virtual care through bold leadership and an unwavering commitment to excellence, transforming healthcare delivery and improving outcomes.

“I’m very pleased to receive this recognition from Teladoc Health, a global leader in virtual care technologies that has been a longstanding partner of our program,” said Dr. Mendez. “I’ve been interested in how technology can help us deliver care remotely for decades. With Teladoc robotic devices our team has been able to provide medical care remotely to patients, something that is crucial in Saskatchewan where rural and remote populations, including Indigenous communities, have significant challenges accessing timely healthcare.”

Earlier this year, Dr. Mendez was appointed to the Order of Canada which recognizes extraordinary Canadians who make major contributions to this country. Dr. Mendez was recognized for his revolutionary work in robotic surgery, leveraging virtual care technology to help people in remote communities receive care. Some of the areas of focus include acute care pediatrics, wound care, robotic ultrasound, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation.

“We’re incredibly proud and encouraged to see the lifesaving work that Dr. Mendez has accomplished over the years with the use of our robotic devices,” said Joby McKenzie, Teladoc Health Canada, managing director. “Dr. Mendez and his team have expanded clinical capacity, supported Indigenous healthcare, and proven time and time again that virtual care delivers outstanding outcomes and keeps people home in their community to return to health.”

Teladoc Health’s leadership award not only recognizes Dr. Mendez’ vast impact in improving delivery of care in Canada, it also recognizes his recent work caring for victims of war in Ukraine. One recent case required a procedure that local neurosurgeons had not performed before. Under Dr. Mendez’ expert guidance, the Ukrainian surgeons were able to operate with excellent results for a young patient.

Remote presence devices and the connected platform utilized by hospitals and healthcare systems are only part the services that Teladoc Health currently offers in Canada. As a leading global healthcare company, Teladoc Health offers online telemedicine, mental health and expert medical services in Canada.

About Teladoc Health Canada, Inc.
Teladoc Health Canada, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Teladoc Health, Inc. Teladoc Health empowers all people everywhere to live their healthiest lives by transforming the healthcare experience. As the world leader in whole-person virtual care, Teladoc Health uses proprietary health signals and personalized interactions to drive better health outcomes across the full continuum of care, at every stage in a person’s health journey. Teladoc Health leverages more than a decade of expertise and data-driven insights to meet the growing virtual care needs of consumers and healthcare professionals. For more information, please visit www.teladochealth.ca.