Telehealth - GPs and Specialists

Under the Government’s Connecting Health Services with the Future initiative, Australia’s healthcare industry is in the midst of an exciting change. While the age-old challenges of improving quality of care, complying with regulations, keeping up with innovation and managing costs all remain – new and evolving technology is making the health environment more dynamic than ever. We’re proud to be at the forefront of that change.

Australia has always faced the challenge of providing healthcare across vast distances to a small population. This has not only increased the cost of delivering services, it has created unequal access to quality healthcare in regional areas. Attracting medical professionals to these areas has also been difficult due to lack of peer support and advanced facilities, and few opportunities to enhance medical skills.

New rebates for telehealth consultations

Medicare and the Department of Health and Ageing have introduced rebates to support telehealth video conferencing services to patients in remote, regional, and outer metropolitan areas; as well as aged care and Aboriginal health facilities throughout Australia. The new incentive payments and rebates include one-off On Board payments of up to $6,000 to help with telehealth set up costs, plus ongoing rebates of up to $60 per consultation from the 2011–12 financial year. For more information go to www.racgp.org.au

Introducing Telstra Telehealth Bundles

To help you adopt the new technology and start providing eligible services easily, we’ve developed a suite of teleconferencing bundles specifically to support the healthcare industry.

Our Telehealth Solutions allow GPs, specialists and residential care facilities to take advantage of the recently announced Medicare Rebate Scheme, which seeks to stimulate adoption of telehealth consultations as an alternative to face-to-face consultations.

Telstra Telehealth Starter is a desktop telehealth consultation solution developed to suit the needs of small medical practices, especially GP surgeries. A high quality webcam and hands free audio equipment and a specially developed software client allow you to make use of your existing PC and / or laptop to start hosting telehealth consultations right from your current offices.

Telstra Telehealth Professional is a larger dedicated telehealth consultation solution that combines professional grade video equipment, high speed broadband networking and video meeting room services designed specifically with the Specialist Healthcare provider environment in mind.

Telehealth – GPs and Specialists brochure (PDF, 648kB)

We can provide a range of interoperable systems, from desktop-based solutions for GPs to high-end services for busy hospitals. Regardless of your needs, each solution will bring you:

Managed end-to-end quality

We can offer you high-end equipment-based solutions together with superior network services and end-to-end management – so you can rely on consistent quality and a user-friendly experience for practitioners as well as their patients.

Practical features

We understand how professional commitments can build up during the day, so all our systems include a ‘video waiting room’ feature, which patients can view until the medical specialist is ready to see them. There’s also the option of adding a second screen to any bundle, so doctors can work on a patient’s notes while they’re holding the video consultation.

Predictable user experiences

Practitioners and patients can look forward to consistent, high quality picture resolution and audio performance on easy-to-use systems, so that their telehealth consultations are as natural and successful as possible.

Versatile range of devices

Practitioners can choose from a range of inter-operable devices, to get the best solution for their professional and business needs.

Security and privacy

Our more advanced telehealth solutions are delivered via our own networks, so each private consultations can be encrypted and transmitted directly to the patient for better security and privacy.

Service assurance

No matter which solution you choose, you’ll have the assurance of full support – including phone, email and online help desk access; plus clear service level targets to define the system’s performance.