Photo caption: Attending the North Coast Health Connect Northern NSW launch were (L-R) Adam Webster, Pharmacy Owner, TerryWhite Chemmart Alstonville; Chris Braithwaite, Project Lead, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia; Nicola Ivory, Partnerships Lead, Amplar Health; Monika Wheeler, Chief Executive, Healthy North Coast; and Dr Jay Chetty, GP with Doctors at Ballina Fair.
Last week marked a significant milestone for North Coast Health Connect as it completed its rollout across the entire North Coast region, now offering the service to Northern NSW postcodes. This digital front door to the healthcare system was started in Port Macquarie in December 2022 and has since expanded to Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, and now Northern NSW, serving over 2,000 patients through phone or web chat.
At the latest launch event held this week at Doctors at Ballina Fair, Healthy North Coast staff were joined by Amplar Health, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, and local primary care clinicians to celebrate this achievement.
The North Coast Health Connect service is able to offer urgent care appointments, when needed, with participating local general practices or pharmacies. You can view the map for locations of participating local services here.
Help to spread the word
To raise awareness of the North Coast Health Connect service, a community campaign is promoting the unique offering via social media, search engine advertising and printed materials. Local services and community organisations can also access a consumer promotion kit to promote the 1800 number and web chat link in their areas. Printed posters and wallet cards are available.
To find out more about North Coast Health Connect, visit northcoasthealthconnect.org.au.
North Coast Health Connect is funded by Healthy North Coast through the PHN Program, delivered by Amplar Health (a business of Medibank Health Solutions Pty Ltd ABN 99 078 934 791) and supported by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. The service will be evaluated by The George Institute.