Telehealth in Australia

Laurie Wilson PhDHonorary Secretary, Australasian Telehealth Society

Post-Retirement Fellow, CSIRO ICT Centre

Telehealth in Australia

• Challenges posed by large distances and small populations– Excellent health system but unequal access to the

best expertise– Poorer health outcomes in rural and remote areas

• Long history – Royal Flying Doctor Service 1928

• Development limited by– Lack of national vision– Fragmentation due to state-based health systems– Lack of access to advanced network and user

interface technology

Australia is a big country…….

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Chile

Australia

Malaysia

Peru

Canada

Korea (S)

Thailand

Vietnam

Philippines

Mexico

Japan

Indonesia

USA

China

Population (millions)

Selected Asia-Pacific Nations

…with a small population

Some recent developments

• Broad band critical care telemedicine pilots

• Announcement of National Broadband Network

• Formation of Australasian TeleHealth Society

Telehealth on Advanced Networks

• Projects supported by Australian Department of Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy– Virtual Critical Care Unit (ViCCU)– ECHONET

• Use of advanced network permits delivery of more complex services– Better use of stretched medical workforce

Virtual Critical Care Unit

• Developed by CSIRO with support from Australian Department of Broadband, Communications & Digital Economy

• Uses multiple high-bandwidth video & audio channels to permit a trauma specialist to join a team in a rural hospital

ViCCU®

100 Mbit/s fibre

ECHONET

• Connects regional ICU to major tertiary referral ICU

• Supports bedside consults and echocardiography

• Major teaching role

ECHONET system

Royal Hobart Hospital Cardiology

Royal Hobart Hospital ICU

Burnie Hospital ICU

100 Mbit/s network

Australasian TeleHealth Society

• www.aths.org.au• A forum for telehealth in Australia and New

Zealand• Affiliated to International Society for

Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH)• Formed in 2008; growing rapidly• Dedicated to raising the profile of telehealth in

Australia• Around 50 members

– Corporate members include Royal Flying Doctor Service

Trends

• Better networks and user interfaces support:– Complex medical procedures and cases, e.g.

critical care– Point of care consultations– User-activated consultations underpinned by

high degree of usability– Distributed expertise model of health care

delivery

National Broadband Network

• Recently announced by Australian Department of Broadband

• $A43billion investment

• Health as major beneficiary

Telehealth in Australia

• Australasian TeleHealth Society to push for national approach

• National Broadband Network to provide opportunities for further rollout of advanced systems

Two events in 2010

• 29th APAN Meeting, Sydney 8-12 February

• Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth, Perth, November (incorporating 1st Scientific Meeting of Australasian Telehealth Society)