Tara Murray
Northern Health is making it easier for people to seek medical help with the launch of a virtual emergency department.
Launched in October for people living in Northern Health’s catchment area, the virtual ED enables patients to self-present to the hospital by using their phone or laptop.
Emergency physician, Dr Loren Sher, said the virtual ED enables patients to talk to emergency nurses and doctors from their home, work or even their car.
Northern Health said it is the first public health service in Australia to launch this technology.
“If a patient has a non-life-threatening emergency, they can connect virtually with our ED staff, who will be able to provide medical advice, Dr Sher said.
“Patients will need to have a valid Medicare card and be comfortable speaking in English, as interpreting isn’t currently available for this particular service.”
Patients register their details online and are then placed in a virtual waiting room.
When it’s their turn the triage nurse conducts an online consultation with them and advises the best course of action.
Depending on the patient’s condition, this could be a telehealth consultation with an emergency doctor or advanced practice physiotherapist. In many cases, the team will be able to help patients completely virtually, and can organise tests and prescriptions close to their home.
In some cases, they may ask the patient to come into the ED for required treatment.
Doreen resident, Valerie Patragoulas, whose son, Jake, fell off his bike, used the service on the recommendation of a family member.
“We did the teleconference call, and as it was late in the afternoon, and our closest X-ray centre was closed. We were advised to come into Northern’s ED and get the X-ray done,” she said.
“It was a great experience as we were an expected case when we arrived and after a very short wait, we were taken to do an X-ray.
“We were in and out in under two hours and I would absolutely recommend this service. We saw the doctor really quickly and that meant a lot for Jake, as he quickly knew everything would be OK.”
Dr Sher said the new service would also benefit local GPs and acute care centres.
“The program works with GPs and community health care providers to identify patients that traditionally would have been referred to ED, but may be suitable for ongoing management in the community, with ED consultation,” Dr Sher said.
“We are hoping to establish a mutual relationship where GPs can have consultations with us regarding complicated patients, and we are hoping to also refer virtual triage patients to their practices for follow-up.”
The service is available seven days a week between 1 pm to 9.30 pm and can be accessed at www.nh.org.au/ed.
