Announcement of Expansion of Telehealth services through trials in NBN areas

NBN Co Discovery Centre, Docklands, Melbourne
22 January 2012

Introduction and acknowledgments

I’m delighted to be with you to announce a new NBN-enabled telehealth initiative with the Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek.

I also acknowledge:

• Mukesh Haikerwal, who has played a key role in advancing telehealth in Australia...

National Digital Economy Strategy

Last year I launched the National Digital Economy Strategy.

The Government’s aim in that strategy is for Australia to be among the world’s leading digital economies by 2020.

One of the key focus areas in this strategy is for improved health and aged care.

Australia’s health system is facing escalating pressures and challenges, including:

• an ageing population requiring higher levels of care;

• increased rates of chronic disease and dementia;

These are then placing greater demands on the health workforce ...

and creating a need to reduce demand for acute or high-cost health settings such as hospitals and aged care facilities.

And as a nation we recognise the need to provide equitable access to care for those in rural and remote communities.

These challenges and pressures necessitate new services and models of care that are more efficient and effective.

Telehealth is one of those solutions.

There is an important distinction between e-health and telehealth.

E-health is the combined use in the health sector of ICT, that is, electronic communication and information technology.

This includes all kinds of digital data transmitted, stored and retrieved electronically.

This data is used for clinical, educational and administrative purposes, both at the local site and at a distance.

Telehealth is that subset of e-health that includes the application of ICT for diagnostic and treatment services.

It includes the use of ICT for educational and support services and the organisation and management of health services.

Studies show that telehealth solutions can play a vital role in meeting this challenge.

For example, telehealth can help reduce hospitalisation and re-admission rates.

This is achieved identifying changes in patient health before they become acute, through improved in-home care and monitoring;

Telehealth can increase patient compliance with disease management programs, leading to improved outcomes.

It also offers cost-effective extended care to more patients, enabling clinicians to monitor patients without in-person visits.

Indeed, early results from a UK Department of Health Demonstrator Programme show telehealth can deliver:

• a 15% reduction in accident and emergency visits;
• a 20% reduction in emergency admissions;
• a 14% reduction in bed days; and
• a 45% reduction in mortality rates.

These are real and significant benefits for patients, their clinical teams and the health system as a whole.

The NBN and health service delivery

Some people make the mistake of equating telehealth with the gathering of test data.

It is more about remote consultation and training and education services.

These require visual communication.

Monash University research has found the quality and reliability of a broadband connection is important to realising telehealth’s potential.

And it is the broadband connection at both ends that matter.

These requirements demonstrate the significance of the NBN as the key enabler for telehealth applications and services.

The NBN will enable significantly increased reach into regional and rural Australia.

It will provide greater upload speeds to enable high quality video conferencing and rapid data transfer.

And it will be reliable and it will be ubiquitous.

This will mean access to appropriate technology will no longer be an obstacle to the wider adoption of telehealth in Australia.

The NBN will provide an opportunity to change, indeed to vastly improve, the way health care is delivered in Australia.

The opportunity to better deliver health services to the homes of patients is particularly exciting.

Remote monitoring and video-conferencing will enable more convenient access to a wider range of health services.

The frail and the elderly will particularly benefit from this sort of service.

Increased access to services from the home can support extended independent living, helping them to live well - with dignity and confidence.

Distance will also no longer be a barrier to quality health care.

People in regional Australia will have access to services while reducing travel costs and time away from work and family.

Government telehealth initiatives

The Government has a comprehensive set of initiatives to contribute to our National Digital Economy Strategy goal.

Amongst these are initiatives to take advantage of the NBN to improve the delivery of healthcare services.

These include:

• An $8 million Telemonitoring for Veterans trial I announced with the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Warren Snowdon, and

• NBN telehealth trials under the Digital Regions Initiative – a diabetes telehealth trial in Townsville, a trial of telehealth services for older Australians with chronic disease in Armidale and Kiama, as well as a trial to deliver youth mental health services in Kiama.

Today’s announcement extends the Government’s investment in NBN-enabled telehealth and broadens opportunities for the use of telehealth in our health system.

Minister Plibersek will be providing more details in just a few minutes.

Shortly we will see a telehealth demonstration where Broadband Champion Professor John Wilson will be having a video consultation with a patient here at the Discovery Centre.

This is just an example of the type of services we can expect to start seeing a lot more of.

Conclusion

The NBN is a key enabler for the widespread use of high quality telehealth services across our great continent.

This provides us the opportunity to improve the effectiveness of health care and achieve efficiencies.

That’s why we are committed to integrating digital technologies and broadband internet services into the Australian health system.

The Gillard Government is committed to the future of the Australian economy and the delivery of services to our citizens.

Through the National Digital Economy Strategy and the National eHealth Strategy, the Government has developed Australia’s telehealth vision.

Through targeted programs, and through the NBN, the Gillard Government is taking steps to help realise that vision.

Thank you