But while telemedicine is opening up health care to regional Australia, there are still some major teething problems.
A Skype session with a specialist in your GP's surgery, emailed scans and blood tests and phone consults, are just a sample of the range of telemedicine used today.
Imagine you had a single digital identity, an online ID that you could use for any government service. Whether you needed to communicate with departments that handled tax, welfare, or healthcare and education, all you'd need is a single online ID.
It would bring together information about you from all participating departments, meaning less paperwork for government officials and greater information at their fingertips. Not only that, it would take all the hassle out of dealing with government services for you, yes?
Designed by Conrad Gargett Riddel AMW, the $96 million facility houses the country’s first full electronic medical record (EMR) and digital patient management system, in addition to a digital drug dispensing facility and a capacity to monitor patients during surgeries.
Read more: Regional Australia’s First Fully Integrated Digital Hospital
Most governments want to include their citizens in decision-making. This is especially true when it comes to issues which cause a great deal of disagreement. So how do you host a discussion that doesn’t degenerate into an argument between the loudest voices?
Read more: Schemes used by South Australia to include citizens in policy making
And yet there is one giant employer in this country that has remained immune to these dramatic technology forces. The Australian government has been largely unmoved, drifting for years as the world has transformed around it.