The $352 million initiative will give people living in rural, remote and outer metropolitan locations the ability to access medical specialist consultations online.
Minister for Health, Nicola Roxon, said the new service – to start on 1 July next year – would provide about 495,000 services over four years, as well as training and incentives for specialists, GPs and other health professionals.
“Telehealth will cut down the tyranny of distance and bring specialist services to the patient’s doorstep through the use of online videolink technology,” Ms Roxon said.
“That will cut down patients’ travel time and is part of the Government’s investment in delivering specialist services closer to home.
“For example, a patient in a regional area who is being treated for high blood pressure and whose GP wants a specialist’s opinion may be forced to travel a long distance to see a cardiologist – now they would be able to get the service delivered locally.”
Ms Roxon said the initiative was important because there were twice as many specialists per capita in major cities compared to regional and remote areas.
She said the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) would play a key role in allowing patients to experience the benefits of telehealth.
Telehealth trials will begin in the NSW town’s of Armidale and Kiama when the NBN rolled out early next year.
The discussion paper seeks views on the clinical situations and medical specialties in which telehealth would be most helpful and how it would work in practice.
It also covers remuneration models that could be employed, the financial incentives to ensure uptake and ongoing participation in the model, the training and support required, and technical issues.
The Minister released the discussion paper at a recent e-Health conference, where over 400 clinicians, industry and consumer representatives gathered to plan the steps necessary for a national e-health system.
Also released at the conference was a demonstration iPhone – still in the concept phase – that showed how Doctors could access a patient’s records easily with e-Health records, including X-ray results and allergies, making diagnosis quicker and safer.
Ms Roxon said she looked forward to receiving submissions from doctors, health professionals and patient groups.
The discussion paper is available at www.mbsonline.gov.au and submissions close on 27 January 2010.
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Quelle/Source: PS News, 07.12.2010
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