Healthdirect Australia has selected Coviu, an Australian developed telehealth software platform, to power its government-funded healthdirect Video Call service.
healthdirect Video Call is the most comprehensive, safe and reliable video consulting service for health in Australia. It is managed by Healthdirect Australia on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Health, WA Health and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
“healthdirect Video Call was developed by Healthdirect Australia to make it easy for healthcare providers to offer their services directly to patients via video consultation and integrate telehealth as an everyday part of a modern Australian health system,” says Karen Borg, CEO of Healthdirect Australia.
Healthdirect CEO, Karen Borg and Coviu CEO, Dr Silvia Pfeiffer
Reaching the next level in telehealth tech and integration
Coviu software is at the cutting edge of public telehealth where privacy and information security are critical – it leaves no digital footprint from patient consultations. It also empowers clinicians to deliver better health outcomes via digital clinical instruments that are underpinned by artificial intelligence.
Over 5,500 service providers and their online clinics in hospitals, medical centres and GP practices across Australia have been seamlessly migrated across to the new Coviu-powered healthdirect Video Call as of 1 September.
“To realise the great potential of video access between health consumers and their care providers, we have worked collaboratively on designing the service with front line clinical and administrative staff at hospitals, PHNs and health networks to ensure this service works seamlessly with their existing workflows and suits their model of care,” says Ms Borg.
The Coviu video call interface
Supporting the Commonwealth’s telehealth goals
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt’s Long Term National Health Plan has made telehealth a priority in primary care. The healthdirect Video Call service is a national scalable capability which supports this policy.
healthdirect Video Call has the support of the Commonwealth Department of Health which is encouraging PHNs to use healthdirect Video Call in the areas of health care homes, after-hours care, aged care, palliative care and mental health by offering a free trial of the service until 30 June 2020.
healthdirect Video Call is another channel for parents seeking health advice
Healthdirect Australia has offered healthdirect Video Call as a channel for the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby telehealth service, managed on behalf of the Commonwealth Government of Australia since 2014.
The option to speak with a maternal child health nurse via video offers parents and carers a third telehealth channel when seeking parenting advice, in addition to the Pregnancy Birth and Baby telephone helpline and website.
“Our mission is to push telehealth forward in Australia. healthdirect Video Call is a simple, scalable and sustainable model for enabling better access to care. It’s strengthening our use of technology to provide more convenient access to care, in ways people now expect,” says Ms Borg.
Telehealth vital to providing better health
Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, CEO and co-founder of Coviu said that the vast distance between healthcare providers and their patients often requires significant time, money and effort to overcome. Coviu aims to combat this barrier by making video visits the new standard of care.
“Our goal is to bring fairer access to healthcare for all citizens, regardless of their location. I’m extremely pleased to be working with Healthdirect Australia on this important initiative which takes us one step closer to achieving that goal.”
“While telehealth is a fantastic solution for those seeking aid, it’s often underutilised. Our partnership with Healthdirect will make quality healthcare more accessible to all Australians and help to bridge some of the barriers that exist when it comes to equal access,” concludes Dr Pfeiffer.
For further information, interview and photos:
Media contacts
Coviu
Natascha Kwiet-Evans
Media and Capital Partners
0405 166 566
natascha.kwietevans@mcpartners.com.au
Healthdirect Australia
Jenni Ellard
0415 7157 737
jenni.ellard@healthdirect.org.au
Available for interview
- Karen Borg, Healthdirect Australia CEO
- Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, CEO and co-founder of Coviu
About Coviu
Coviu is a startup out of CSIRO’s Data61, offering video consultation software to healthcare businesses. It brings the specific workflows and tools necessary for healthcare into an online video call while satisfying regulatory requirements around security and privacy.
