More than 2000 consultations by a “virtual doctor” have been provided to children in regional Queensland thanks to world-leading research by The University of Queensland and valuable funding by the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The children received virtual medical care from Brisbane specialists as part of a research project lead by UQ’s Centre for Online Health (COH), in collaboration with the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH). The project is now the basis for the world’s first book on telepediatrics which was launched today (Wednesday, December 8).
COH is an international leader in the development of telepediatrics for delivery of clinical health services. Telepaediatrics includes healthcare and education delivered by videoconferencing, telephone, facsimile, email and the internet.
The service allows doctors in remote areas to send e-referrals to a centralised call centre, operated by the COH in Brisbane. Once a referral is made to the call centre, a guaranteed response by a specialist is arranged.
It is currently available to several regional and remote hospitals in Queensland, including Mackay, Hervey Bay, Rockhampton, Emerald and Gladstone.
Local doctors are linked with Brisbane clinicians in a wide range of fields, including diabetes, endocrinology, burns, cardiology, dermatology, oncology, orthopaedics, gastroenterology, neurology and paediatric surgery.
In the case of post-acute burns care, more than 1000 burns outpatient appointments have been conducted "at a distance", meaning the patient and family did not have to travel to the specialist centre in Brisbane.
Instead, specialists from the burns unit were able to review scars via videoconference and discuss clinical management with local health professionals.
In a substantial number of cases, this service has saved a plane trip for the patient and parent. The estimated savings to the health department are around $250,000 per year.
The book, Telepediatrics: Telemedicine and Child Health, is edited by Professor Richard Wootton, Director of Research at the COH and Professor Jennifer Batch, the RCH`s Director of Research.
Publication costs for the book have been supported by the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, which has also funded many of the pilot project areas of telepaediatrics that have rapidly become core clinical activity for the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Media: For more information contact Professor Richard Wootton (telephone 07 3346 4704) or Professor Jennifer Batch (telephone 07 3636 3767).
