Project to explore the economics of virtual care in remote WA

A new Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC) research project will explore how virtual health care can be sustainably embedded in Indigenous communities.

Understanding the role of technology to deliver better, accessible health care to remote Indigenous communities across Western Australia is the focus of the project between Western Australia Country Health Service (WACHS), The University of Sydney (USYD), and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC).

The community has already been accessing these services for over three years, following a successful pilot of providing virtual emergency services to approximately 700–800 residents. With the support of Aboriginal Medical Services (AMSs), several communities are seeking access to these virtual emergency services.

WACHS represents one of the largest areas, covering 2.5 square million kilometres and serving over 500,000 residents, 11% of whom identify as Aboriginal.

The research initiative will provide important insights into remote health service delivery through a study on expanding the WACHS Command Centre (WACHS CC) into additional remote Indigenous communities.

WACHS Executive Director Strategy and Change Melissa Vernon said in serving these remote communities WACHS had seen first-hand the difference virtual care can make in delivering on critical unmet health needs.

“Technology provides a crucial link in delivering timely medical assessment and intervention, reducing the burden of travel, improving healthcare equity for Aboriginal populations, and [having] a significant social impact on health outcomes and overall wellbeing,” Vernon said.

“It is also important that we understand the cost benefits of providing these services to ensure we are providing valuable and sustainable services.”

The project will see The University of Sydney undertake research to understand the economic costs, and service access benefits, of embedding the service into additional regional communities.

Local community members, consumers and AMSs will be involved to ensure their input into the benefits, experience of using the service, and the cultural and social requirements.

“It is critical that accessible virtual healthcare services in these areas is both accurately costed and is appropriately adapted to the needs of Aboriginal communities,” said Sarah Norris, Associate Professor of Practice, Health Technology Assessment at The University of Sydney.

“Our vision is this project will provide a framework for weighing up costs, benefits and consequences, economic and non-economic, of implementing and extending virtual health care to additional communities across Australia in a culturally sensitive way.”

“DHCRC has been a vocal advocate for equality and equity in accessing health care in remote communities,” DHCRC CEO Annette Schmiede said.

“The success of the WACHS virtual care program to date demonstrates the demand across remote and regional Australia, and through this project, remote health service providers will have an opportunity to inform and tailor future virtual healthcare solutions for the communities which they are serving.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Edward Haylan