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: Telstra Health and Gold Coast Health

Founded in 2013 , Telstra Health works to improve lives by delivering digitally-enabled care to its communities by providing software products , solutions and platforms to governments and healthcare providers throughout Australia .

Telstra Health was chosen as a key partner of Gold Coast Health Services , providing their virtual health consultation platform as a way to deliver patient care remotely . “ Traditionally , you might go to see a specialist at a hospital and , after a five minute conversation , be sent home ,” Jamie Spencer , Regional General Manager Business Development at Telstra Health says . “ Someone living in rural Queensland might drive for up to four to six hours for that five minute appointment . Now , rather than people having to make those long journeys to see a specialist , we can provide that consultation to people in their own homes , in a way that leads to a richer conversation , which results in better feedback and , ultimately , a better standard of care .”

Telstra Health ’ s virtual care technology adopts a twofold approach . First , using Bluetooth connected devices , clinicians can monitor patients ’ blood pressure , pulse oximetry , temperature and weight remotely . These baseline metrics are then combined with a virtual appointment in which the clinician can follow-up with the patient to discuss and provide results .

“ We ’ ve found that our service has helped to dramatically reduce readmission rates , and enabled early discharge , which means that patients get to be at home sooner ,” enthuses Spencer , who also notes that , “ The overarching monitoring aspect can also help people who need readmission get back into hospital sooner , which can make a huge difference in some cases .”

Spencer , who works closely with Sandip Kumar , Gold Coast Health ’ s Executive Director of Transformation and Digital , emphasises that the relationship between Telstra Health and Gold Coast is far more than that of vendor and client . “ We ’ re looking for a real partner , not just a customer .”

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