When implementing a new health service, or redesigning an existing one, contact your NSW Health virtual care manager or lead. They can help you manage the delivery of virtual care strategies, initiatives and projects to support innovation and the sustainable delivery of quality virtual care services.
Virtual care managers and leads will:
- help you explore the use of virtual care in your service and work through the clinical workflows where technology can support the provision of care or workforce
- inform you about local governance processes, and demonstrate and advise on supported technologies that are most suited to your clinical and consumer requirements
- provide change management and implementation support as you go through the implementation checklist.
- develop or access existing resources to support consumers and their carers to use virtual care
- support the procurement and installation of technology and associated shortcuts to ensure a seamless and simple process.
- provide the team with education and training
- support testing and the 'go live' process, including troubleshooting, if required
- connect you with other services using similar technology to share lessons learnt
- support the promotion of your virtual care service.
The principles of virtual care have been developed to support clinical principles of care and models of care. At a minimum, these principles should prompt staff developing, or redesigning a model of care, to integrate virtual modalities as a complement to in-person care. This provides consumers and their carers with choice on how they access healthcare.
Opportunities to integrate virtual care into your service
Throughout NSW, models of care have been developed or redesigned to integrate virtual care across all settings, including first response, emergency, inpatient, outpatient and community care.
The examples below outline how virtual care can be integrated across different settings.
Virtual care supports time-critical access to specialists to provide emergency care.
Examples
- Care/advice occurs between the virtual clinical call centre while waiting for an ambulance, or as a secondary triage when an ambulance is not required immediately.
- Care/advice accessed between the ambulance and the receiving emergency department (ED).
- Care/advice accessed between an ED and a specialty retrieval service, such as a rural/regional hospital to the Neonatal and Paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS).
- Care/advice accessed from the consumer’s location (a non-medical site) using mobile equipment to connect to a specialty service, such as mental health assessment from the consumer’s location before transfer to a NSW Health facility.
Virtual care connects specialists to support time-critical consumer needs. This may involve engaging specialists within the district, between districts and/or across borders.
Examples
- Care/advice accessed between an emergency department (ED) and a virtual statewide service, such as the Statewide Burn Injury Service or the NSW Telestroke Service.
- Care/advice accessed between two EDs; for example, rural to regional hospital or to a metro-based hospital.
- Care/advice accessed between an ED and centralised patient flow unit.
- Consultation provided to a consumer in an external health facility where the consumer is not transported to an ED; for example, managing care of a resident living in a group home or residential aged care facility.
Virtual care can support the escalation and management of patients; reduce length of stay in hospital; and support discharge planning. It provides opportunities to integrate care with family members, carers, friends and healthcare providers to support care following discharge.
Other examples
Virtual care can be used in the following situations:
- During handovers when a patient is being transferred from:
- one health facility to another health facility
- a health facility to an external care provider, such as the consumer's GP or primary care provider
- a hospital to a residential aged care facility or primary care provider.
- During handover to support ongoing care at home or early discharge, such as day surgery or paediatric unit to Hospital in the Home (HITH).
- Throughout a multidisciplinary clinical review/case conference between clinician(s), with or without the patient, from the health facility and with carer(s), and other health or social care providers.
The use of virtual care in community settings is increasing, especially in situations where consumers may be hesitant to seek in-person treatment or face barriers to accessing traditional in-person care. This may be due to geographic distance, transportation challenges, or the need for ongoing monitoring. The technology allows flexibility for all participants, supporting choice for consumers and agile workplaces, with no limitations on the number of participants.
Examples
- Remote consultations between consumers and healthcare providers using video conferencing, audio calls, or even text-based communication. Consumers can discuss their symptoms, receive diagnoses, counselling, therapy or treatment recommendations from the comfort of their homes.
- The provision of consumer information to another provider, such as a specialist, to provide advice or management of the consumer. High-risk foot clinics, fracture clinics and wound management clinics are some examples of services that may access specialist advice (not in real-time).
- A multidisciplinary clinical review/case conference with several providers from one or more health facilities. The consumer is at home, at a health facility or with another health or social care provider.
- Remote monitoring where a consumer uses a wearable device and/or other connected technologies to monitor their vital signs and health metrics, remotely. This data can be transmitted to healthcare providers for assessment and intervention.
- Use of online platforms and mobile apps that enable consumers to access information about their health conditions, medications, and treatment plans. They may also use these to report symptoms, medication reminders, and access educational resources and lifestyle programs to empower consumers to manage their health conditions.
Virtual care enables shared and integrated care that can enhance the consumer’s experience in accessing healthcare services and provide holistic outcomes across health, social or educational sectors. Speak to the consumer, their carer or family members to identify other providers that may be supporting their health and wellbeing.
Examples
- Affiliated health services
- Cross-border health services
- Residential aged care facilities
- General practice
- Aboriginal Medical Services
- Non-government providers
- Private providers (medical, nursing and allied health)
- Educational providers
- Other government organisations.