The small pilot project involved 10 video consultations between stroke patients and a team of rehabilitation specialists in Thunder Bay, a mid-size city near the U.S. border.

French says that, in addition to identifying how tele-rehabilitation could be effective, the experiment revealed limitations in the use of technology.

For example, speech pathologists said the audio link wasn't always clear enough for a proper evaluation. Another issue was that the video link was just one-way. Also, patients found talking into a camera when they couldn't see the therapist on the other end pretty impersonal.

"As we went on, we really did make an effort to try and establish that rapport with the clients," French says. "Definitely we are saying it does not replace face-to-face. But in the absence of any service, we have found that it is able to remove that barrier in some cases."

French's study didn't include an economic analysis, but she concedes it's expensive to set up a telemedicine network.

Once that's established, however, she believes it should be cost effective to provide rehabilitation services via remote audio and video links.