Bringing Telehealth to Residential Aged Care Facilities

Resident benefits• Providesaccesstohighqualityspecialistsusing telehealth

• Reducesneedforinconvenienttravel

• Supportsongoingrelationshipwithageriatrician

• Providescustomisedcarebyateamofspecialists,GPs and RACF staff.

GP benefits• Permitseasyaccesstoageriatricianandfuturespecialistpanel

• Sharesresponsibilityforresidentcare

• Simplifiesprogramofgeriatriccarewithoutnegativelyimpactingonbillingcapacity

• Maintainsclinicalrelationshipwiththepatient

• Supportsskillacquisitionandspecialisationinthegeriatricfield

• Reducesrequirementforheavyvisitationschedule.

Geriatrician benefits• Remunerationatleastequivalenttootherpracticeenvironments

• Caseloadincludesanaverageofonecomprehensiveassessmentperweek

• State-of-the-artvirtualclinicwithvideoconferencingsolutionswithaprovencapacitytohostclinicalconsultations

• Partofaresearchprogramimprovingagedcareservices.

Contact UsRES-e-CARE

Phone: +61 7 3176 5530 Email: enquiries@resecare.com.au Web: www.resecare.com.au

RACF benefits• Accesstohighqualityspecialists

• Participationinacollaborativecarenetwork

• Useofpurposedesignedonlineclinicalsoftwareand support tools

• Accesstoasystemofcarebasedoncomprehensivegeriatricassessments

• Establishmentofstrongclinicalrelationshipswithhealth professionals

• EnhancementofACFIprocesses

• Reductionintransportationandsupervisorycostsassociatedwithoff-siteconsultations

• Provisionofstructuredcareplanning

• Recognitionasasupplierofhighlevelspecialistcare.

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Innovations in Geriatric Clinical CareResidentsinagedcarefacilitieswillsoonbenefitfromspecialistgeriatrictelehealthservices.Thefederalgovernmentsupportsinitiativesthatprovidekeyclinicalservicesusingtelehealth.TheUniversityofQueenslandiscoordinatingaservicemodelthatsupportscomprehensivegeriatrictelehealthassessmentsusingvideoconferencing.

The CHRS's CentreforOnlineHealth(COH)andTheAgeing and Geriatric Medicine Program,havetestedtheuseofhighdefinitionmobilewirelessvideoconsultationsbetweenspecialistsandResidentialAgedCareFacilities(RACFs),andhavedevelopedprotocolstosupportgeriatriccareusingtelehealth.

RES-e-CAREprovidesregulargeriatricconsultationswithparticipatingRACFs,whichisfullysupportedbypurposebuiltvideoconferencingstudios,high-qualityelectronicdatasystemsandclinicalsupportstaff trained in telehealth. RES-e-CARE addresses the needs of geriatricians,general practitionersand RACF staff.

Clinical Arrangements RES-e-CARE is designed toenhance,support andsimplifyclinicalcareof residents in RACFs.

RES-e-CARE offers:

• Clinicalsupportbyageriatrician

- comprehensivegeriatricassessments

- caseconferencing

- healthcaremanagement

- advancedcareplanning

• Weeklyorfortnightlytelehealthconsultationsessions

• On-siteconsultations

• Schedulingandreportingprocesses

• Trainingandsupportforon-sitenurseassessorstopreparecases

• FacilitationofprofessionalrelationshipsbetweenGPs,nursingstaff,specialistsandalliedhealthprofessionals

• Accesstoclinicaldecisionsupportsoftwaresystems.

Service DevelopmentFutureserviceenhancementsincludethecreationofatelehealthspecialistpanelintroducingmedicalspecialistslikepsychiatrists,dermatologists,cardiologistsandendocrinologistsintoresidentialagedcarefacilities.Alliedhealthprofessionalssuchasspeechpathologists,occupationaltherapistsandphysiotherapistswillalsoofferservicesin RES-e-CARE.

The Ageing and Geriatric Medicine ProgramTheAgeing and Geriatric Medicine Program, part of the Centre for Health Services Research (CHSR), isamongthemostsuccessfulgeriatricmedicineresearchorganisationsinAustralia.Establishedin2002 (as The Centre for Research in Geriatric Medicine),ithasdevelopedareputationforinnovativesystemsofcare,informationtechnologyandtelemedicinetoadvanceaccessandqualityofspecialistagedcareservices.ItishometotheAustralianinterRAICoordinatingCentre.

Centre for Online HealthTheCentreforOnlineHealth(COH)isrecognisedinternationallyforitsroleinresearch,servicedeliveryandeducationandtraininginthefieldsoftelemedicine,telehealthande-Healthcare. Establishedin1999,COH’sprimaryresearchexaminesthefeasibility,efficacy,clinicaleffectivenessandeconomicsoftelehealthandtelemedicineinavarietyofsettings. Italsoactsasaclinicalcoordinatoroftelemedicineservices.

ServiceRES-e-CAREoffersafullyinclusiveservice,featuringcustomisedtelehealthequipment,remotemonitoringandtechnicalsupport.ItalsoprovidestheclinicalcoordinationofgeriatriciansandothercliniciansfordeliveringtelehealthconsultationstoRACFs.