Telehealth solutions have become a vital tool for enhancing patient care and expanding access to medical services. By using modern technology, healthcare providers can offer consultations remotely, ensuring patients in Western and Far West NSW, particularly those in rural and remote areas, receive timely and effective care.
Telehealth solutions use information and communication technologies to provide healthcare services remotely, including consultations via telephone or video conferencing. It has the potential to provide patients with more convenient and efficient access to healthcare. Many general practices have embraced the use of Telehealth to provide clinical care, especially in remote and rural areas.
Telehealth offers easy access to health services and convenience especially when patients cannot travel or need to be isolated at home. It is a supplemental aid that can improve health care access and can be used in conjunction with face-to-face consultation.
A 2024 review by the Department of Health, Disability & Ageing and the MBS Review Advisory Committee revealed no major differences between telephone and video consultations in terms of patient satisfaction, clinical effectiveness, or cost.
However, video consultations better replicate face-to-face care by allowing visual cues, which are particularly useful for paediatrics, diagnosing visual symptoms, and when patient observation is essential.
Video consultations also enable the use of connected diagnostic tools such as ECG devices and wound cameras, enhancing clinical assessments. In 2023, WNSW PHN supported the adoption of telehealth equipment and diagnostic devices in residential aged care homes, improving access to primary healthcare services.
Read more about this program here.
Telehealth solutions offer several benefits for primary healthcare providers and patients, including:
WNSW PHN has partnered with HealthDirect to offer the HealthDirect Video Call platform free to all primary care providers in the Far West NSW and Western NSW regions until June 2025. This simple and reliable platform allows healthcare professionals to conduct video consultations easily, with no need for patients to create accounts or install special software. This eliminates the need for additional resources and systems to support video consultations, simplifying the process for both providers and patients.
To discuss which telehealth solutions would best suit your practice or residential aged care home, or to receive help setting up a free HealthDirect Video Call account, contact our Digital Health team.
