Modelling predicts that by 2032, 1.5 million more people will require access to care within the NSW health system and that 750,000 more people will be living with chronic diseases, increasing the complexity of care for people aged over 65. Without significant change, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) estimates that by 2027 it will need an additional 480 acute beds to address the demand.
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) offers an opportunity to monitor large volumes of patients, helping them to self-manage and avoid hospital presentations. Within SESLHD, there has been a rapid increase and interest in researching and adopting RPM to enable models of care, which has overtaken the establishment of robust district wide governance and missed opportunities in co-designing models of care. This has resulted in in variations in approaches, inequity of access, multiple vendors being engaged and wasted resources with some apps developed but never utilised.
There is an urgency for SESLHD to address the burgeoning requirement for services, as well as meeting consumer and staff needs and expectations. This project aims to address this through delivering meaningful solutions that support staff in accessing RPM for their patients.
Staff and consumers in support of remote patient monitoring
Initial diagnostic work found that SESLHD consumers wanted RPM to help them manage their health needs, however 71% of staff were not aware of the process for implementing RPM. 93% of staff agreed or strongly agreed that RPM could be incorporated into models of care. Consultations occurred with staff across SESLHD to help co-design and prioritise solutions. The project team identified a total of four solutions development of a framework to guide clinicians, establishment of district governance to streamline processes, creation of a Community of Practice (CoP) to educate and support staff and development of a communication strategy.
Alongside this project, the establishment of a Virtual Health Hub (VHH) was endorsed, which will support the implementation of RPM across SESLHD in alignment with the Virtual Health Strategy. As such, the framework is being drafted with plans for endorsement by the Virtual Health Implementation Steering Committee in August 2023, with establishment of appropriate governance to occur shortly after.
The project team will develop the communication strategy by September 2023 and will incorporate the broader virtual health vision. The CoP will be established by September 2023 to support staff delivering virtual models of care across the district.
View this project's poster from the Centre for Healthcare Redesign graduation August 2023.
