“Telehealth is an extremely important tool in the fight against coronavirus – allowing patients to receive the very best care in the comfort of their home, while keeping doctors and other staff safe,” Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos said.
Since the beginning of April, the main volume of specialist clinic appointments is being delivered by telehealth technology – greatly reducing the risk for patients, families and staff during this unforeseen pandemic.
Thousands of Victorian families are able to seek their doctor’s advice and renew prescriptions from home while self-isolating while the Victorian Government is undertaking a testing blitz to better understand how the virus is spreading in the community.
“I thank doctors, nurses and other staff who have adapted so quickly to keep caring for Victorians while keeping themselves and our community safe,” Ms Mikakos said.
A great example is The Royal Children’s Hospital that quickly converted 50 per cent of its clinical consultations to over the phone or online using the service. That number has now reached 70 per cent.
From an average of 1,200 presentations for face-to-face appointments every weekday we are seeing 250 presentations a day thanks to telehealth.
The Royal Children’s Hospital has expanded its IT system to cope with the increased demand and is using split screen technology to allow patients to view their scans during consultations.
“Increasing our telehealth service to almost 70 per cent has allowed us to continue to provide great care to our patients during this pandemic, and helped us slow the spread of coronavirus, keeping our patients and staff safe,” said the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer, Jane Miller.
Also read: Mikakos announces new spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria