Telehealth and virtual care for Aged Care residents

The program responds to findings from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety that older people living in residential aged care need better, more timely access to mainstream health care. Telehealth and virtual care support this by helping residents connect with health professionals wherever they are, from their aged care home This helps earlier assessment, better clinical decision-making and helps residents to receive the very best of care at home, regardless of location.

It means no longer travelling to an appointment, waiting for a visit, or relying on someone to help arrange it.

Supporting timely care in this way benefits residents and helps ease pressure on the wider health system.

The program pairs the right technology with hands-on support to embed it in everyday practice. Healthy North Coast equips participating aged care homes with a range of devices suited to different care settings, from iPads and laptops for routine video consultations through to mobile clinical carts fitted with advanced diagnostic tools that enable a health professional to conduct a virtual examination and diagnosis in real time. Alongside the equipment, we work with each home to integrate these tools into established care workflows and to build staff confidence through practical, tailored training. The technology is chosen to work flexibly across platforms, so homes can connect seamlessly with local health services, general practitioners, specialists and other care teams.

Aged care homes helped shape the program from the start. The technology was explored as part of a broader workshop with people working across aged care, where participants considered how it might fit into their own settings. A digital maturity questionnaire then mapped the digital capacity and capabilities of each home, across both infrastructure and staff, giving a clear picture of the landscape and where support would make the greatest difference. These findings, together with a set of tiered options, were presented to a working group with representation from participating aged care homes, whose consultation directly shaped the offerings. Aged Care homes were also represented on the advanced technology selection panels, so the equipment and platforms chosen reflect the realities of care delivery and the needs of staff and residents. This collaborative approach continues as the program grows, with ongoing input from participating homes guiding how the technology is used and embedded into everyday care.

• Consultation with homes on digital readiness and appetite for telehealth

• Equipment provision to participating homes including iPads, laptops , Visionflex carts and peripherals

• Community of Practice

• Integration of telehealth to support virtual health services, aged care outreach service and Hospital in the home

• Development of a suite of self service training modules

• Face to face training workshops on responding to detiortation of residnets, focussing on embedding virtual care and Visionflex carts and diagnostic equipment into clinical workflows.

The program aims to give aged care residents timely access to the clinical care they need and to support more of that care to happen in their home. It helps aged care homes build confident, capable teams and deliver more connected and sustainable models of care, with clinical decision-making supported at the point of care so more residents can receive the right care in place.