$9m telemedicine launch
August 22, 2014
THE Florey Institute of
Neuroscience and Mental Health
has launched its $9m Victorian
Stroke Telemedicine project.
The project links neurologists
in Melbourne with rural
emergency departments via
mobile telemedicine carts with
high quality AV connections to
allow assessment of whether
a stroke patient should receive
thrombolysis, the Florey Institute
said.
The project enabled patient
information including brain scans to
be sent the neurologist, Florey said.
It was in six hospitals currently
and would be rolled out to 16
across Victoria in the next four
years, a spokesperson told PD.
Time was important in cases
of stroke, with the medication
needing to be given within four
and a half hours of symptom
onset, and a better chance of good
recovery the sooner treatment was
provided, Florey said.
The project meant 94% of
Victorians would be within one
hour of expert stroke care, Florey
said.
The project is funded by the
Australian Government Health
and Hospital Fund to the tune of
$7.3m, with $1.2m from the state
government.
Pharmacy Guild Victoria branch
president Anthony Tassone said
there was scope for pharmacy in
these kinds of projects, with the
Guild submitting to the Legal and
Social Issues Legislation Committee
inquiry that community pharmacy
could facilitate initiatives such
as tele-health, with pharmacies
hosting three way consultation
services.
Tassone said he expected to see
more of these kinds of projects in
the future, particularly given that
Fred IT Group had been partly
bought out by Telstra.
Pharmacists played a key role in
screening for preventable diseases
in rural areas, and the single
most significant factor in stroke
was high blood pressure, which
was detectable in a community
pharmacy setting, he said.
A Pharmaceutical Society of
Australia spokesperson said the
Telemedicine program was an
excellent initiative.
“Similar technologies has been
used by pharmacists in patient
counselling via remote audio-visual
link at some pharmacy depots in
regional Victoria.
“The telemedicine program
has the potential to expand its
application to other health services
including clinical pharmacy services
and other QUM initiatives by
pharmacists.”
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