Expansion of Telehealth in remote Northern Australia and the potential for international collaborations

The NT leads the country in the use of standards-based secure messaging for clinical information (eg specialist referrals, hospital discharge and pathology reports), shared health patient records and other internet connected diagnostic devices such as the iStat machine (blood analysis) and internet connected Electrocardiography (ECG). Benefits of telehealth have been demonstrated both internationally and through local assessments. Reduced costs associated with patient travel, minimised time spent away from community and providing improved patient satisfaction eg use of remote diagnostic systems for identification of cardiac issues can improve patient care and save lives.
For example, the Chinese government is looking to telehealth as a solution to service delivery issues