In outer Melbourne, a virtual emergency department has offered 250,000 patients treatment and created a model to help keep ageing Baby Boomers out of hospital.
Already a subscriber?Ninety-year-old Betty clearly had pneumonia when her aged care centre called an ambulance. At her age, with obvious symptoms, she would have usually been taken to an emergency department and admitted to a busy hospital.
“That’s happening every day,” says Miller, who, with her colleague Dr Loren Sher, has been the driving force behind a remarkably successful online emergency care program. Deloitte has estimated this Boomer bubble means Australia needs to build a 375-bed acute care hospital every month until 2036 to meet the chronic care needs of the Baby Boomers, many of whom will live beyond 100.
The initiative was hugely successful, prompting the hospital to gear up the program, dubbed the virtual emergency department. Miller says partnerships have been key to scaling up the program, pointing to the tight daily working relationship the VVED staff have with ambulance workers and with the leadership of Ambulance Victoria.
Patient satisfaction has been tracked at better than 90 per cent, which is very high for a health service. The department now also offers remote services for regional areas that do not have local clinicians to meet the local needs.Virtual care covers a wide range of treatments, from basic telehealth presentations to remote monitoring of patients in a growing number of hospital-in-the-home services, using devices that closely track ailments such as diabetes.
There is also imaging equipment that can transmit high-quality images, including wound assessments, dermatology imaging, and throat and dental examinations. Rapid innovation, good partners and backing by health administrators have been key to success, says Dr Suzie Miller, deputy clinical director of the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Victorian government department quits Elon Musk’s X, saying it’s no longer safe or productiveDepartment of Families, Fairness and Housing says ‘break up is overdue’ as more agencies expected to close accounts
Read more »
Victorian woman calls to improve mental health emergency support after partner's death by suicideA woman from the small town of Numurkah is calling for improved responses to a mental health crisis in Victoria following her late partner's death by suicide.
Read more »
Boeing 737 Max 8 Makes Emergency Landing After In-Flight EmergencyA Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Air Canada made an emergency landing in Idaho after experiencing an in-flight emergency. The flight diverted to Boise due to an indicator light in the flight deck. All passengers were safely transferred to another aircraft to complete their trip.
Read more »
Victorian vet likely obtained ketamine through work before overdosing, Coroner findsA Victorian mother-of-two who overdosed in 2023 likely obtained Ketamine through her job as a veterinarian, a Coroner has found.
Read more »
Ex-Victorian Liberals boss fined $40k over unlawful adsThe commission alleged the former Liberals director breached electoral laws by not properly declaring the ads came from him and the Liberal Party.
Read more »
Former Victorian Liberal Party boss fined $40k over tiny authorisation text on political adsFormer Victorian Liberal Party boss Sam McQuestin is fined $40,000 after a court rules federal election ads printed in a regional newspaper were in breach of laws because the authorisation was too small and difficult to read.
Read more »