practical living
Into the mainstream
Making telehealth the norm in Australia ’ s aged care sector .
By Adam Mahmud
What a difference a few months
can make . Experts here in
Australia and around the world have been putting up a convincing use case for telehealth for close on three decades now . They know it can improve access to healthcare services for individuals living in rural and remote locations , facilitate better outcomes for patients who don ’ t have to travel to receive treatment and save serious money for the healthcare system .
Recent years have seen the cost of the technology needed to deliver and access telehealth services plummet too . What , back in the 1990s , called for extremely expensive , fixed video conferencing equipment and costly connectivity can today be achieved with everyday internet access and economical and reliable mobile devices – Apple ’ s iPad being , for our money , far and away the best in breed .
Despite these factors , it ’ s taken a global health crisis to push this alternative mode of healthcare delivery into the Australian mainstream . On 30 March , federal Health Minister Greg Hunt introduced whole of population telehealth services , following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic . As a result , patients eligible for Medicare can now receive treatment by any qualified practitioner for any condition , provided it ’ s safe and clinically appropriate .
THE DIGITAL HEALTH REVOLUTION The trend is not unique to Australia . Across the world , healthcare practitioners have turned to technology to help them care for patients during the COVID-19 crisis . We expect the next couple of years will see telehealth become far more prominent globally , as vendors focus on developing solutions which harness the extraordinary power of digital to deliver lower cost , more responsive care to a greater number of patients .
At Apple ’ s June 2020 Worldwide Developer Conference , CEO Tim Cook told attendees the biggest contribution the company had yet to make was in the realm of health . Throwing Apple ’ s weight behind the creation of apps to help individuals monitor their health and wellbeing is likely to lead to a wave of digital innovation .
PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF SENIOR AUSTRALIANS IN 2020 AND BEYOND Minister Hunt ’ s decision to open up telehealth to the masses has been a boon for older Australians , particularly those
“
The success of the COVID-19 telehealth initiative has created an imperative for aged care providers to continue to facilitate this model of care .
living in aged care facilities who were deemed to be at significant risk from COVID-19 .
Being able to access treatment from familiar healthcare practitioners has provided this cohort of vulnerable patients with continuity of care and extraordinary reassurance during a time of immense upheaval and uncertainty .
In fact , the success of the COVID-19 telehealth initiative has arguably created an imperative for aged care providers to continue to facilitate this model of care , for residents willing to access it , even as restrictions ease and life returns to normal .
While some senior Australians are digitally savvy and can navigate their way around apps with the same ease as their digital native descendants , others require a little or a lot of help to make use of the technology .
For aged care providers , there are a couple of ways this senior ‘ skills gap ’ could be addressed . Acquiring a fleet of communal devices and configuring them for ease of use would eliminate the need for residents to invest in technology and training , thus putting paid to the main barrier to adoption .
For smaller facilities which don ’ t have inhouse IT resources , partnering with a services provider to maintain and manage the equipment and software may make sense . Providers may also choose to deploy a mobile device management solution to automate the process of configuring , updating and securing multiple tablets .
TIME TO ACT Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic , telehealth has suddenly become a viable alternative to in-person consultations for all Australians . The onus is now on aged care providers to put it within reach for their residents , through a modest investment in technology and services . ■
Adam Mahmud is industry lead – healthcare at JAMF .
24 agedcareinsite . com . au