The news items below are included in our eHealth NSW 2022 Year in Review newsletter.
NSW Telestroke Service successfully rolled out across NSW
The NSW Telestroke Service is now live in 23 regional and rural hospitals. Telestroke provides 24/7 access to stroke diagnosis and treatment, connecting local doctors to specialist stroke physicians via video consultation.
Stroke is a leading cause of disability in Australia with around 19,000 NSW residents experiencing one each year. It is a time-critical medical emergency that requires access to specialist physicians for rapid assessment, diagnosis and treatment.
With more than a third of people hospitalised for stroke in NSW from regional and rural areas, the challenge was to provide physicians in these areas with access to expert stroke clinicians and advice.
The Service was delivered in partnership with Prince of Wales Hospital, eHealth NSW, the Agency for Clinical Innovation and the NSW Ministry of Health. eHealth NSW provided the technology and infrastructure that underpinned this vital service.
This includes the Statewide Enterprise Imaging Repository (EIR) which provides the Telestroke Neurologists with rapid access to world class multimodal CT brain imaging for each stroke patient.
The many benefits of the NSW Telestroke Service include:
- Immediate access to specialist services and advice.
- Reduces time from diagnosis to rapid treatment.
- Enables remote viewing of electronic medical records, real-time review of images and patient assessment.
- Ensures patients can receive care closer to home and their family.
- Improves patient quality of life post treatment.
- More than 2,800 stroke patients have now received life-saving treatment thanks to Telestroke.
Critical care cameras provide round-the-clock specialist support
Over 210 critical care cameras were installed in hospitals across NSW during 2022. The critical care cameras and purpose-built web portal enables specialists to view a patient directly and provide local treating clinicians with immediate, round-the-clock advice to assist in determining the best way to manage a patient’s care. They are helping to save lives.
“It’s very reassuring knowing that the nurses can get in touch with the specialists through the critical care camera,” said Carlyne, a patient who attended Batlow-Adelong Multipurpose Service in Murrumbidgee LHD.
Watch Carlyne’s story or read more about the Camera Network.
myVirtualCare virtual consultations
myVirtualCare is NSW Health’s custom-built, webbased videoconferencing platform that provides a secure virtual consultation room. It supports access to healthcare from anywhere in the state and mimics the physical workflow of a clinical consultation.
Since its launch in August 2020, myVirtualCare has run over 300,000 virtual consultations, with over 126,000 this year alone.
myVirtualCare is supporting patients to access a variety of services including cancer care, palliative care, nutrition and dietetics, pain, mental health, chronic and complex care, and speech and rehabilitation services. It is delivered in partnership with eHealth NSW, Agency for Clinical Innovation and the NSW Ministry of Health.
“myVirtualCare should always be an option for appointments,” said a patient who attended South Western Sydney LHD.
To learn more about the benefits, read about myVirtualCare.