Telstra’s pharmacy vision
November 6, 2013
Telstra’s acquisition of a
major stake in Fred IT (PD 02 Oct)
is part of a strategic push by the
communications giant to establish
new growth businesses, with
the company seeing significant
opportunities in e-health.
An investor presentation by Shane
Solomon, head of Telstra’s new
Health division, reveals the firm’s
vision to be at the heart of the
health system’s transformation,
including “creating a safer, efficient
and more convenient pharmacy
system” in Australia.
As well as FRED, the health
division includes various businesses
including Get Real Health,
HealthEngine, DCA eHealth
Solutions, Telus, Foster Intelligence
and IPHealth.
The presentation highlighted the
size of the pharmacy opportunity,
with 200 million PBS prescriptions
dispensed annually, half of
which are for “routine repeat
prescriptions of drug groups for
chronic health conditions”.
And “one in five medical errors
are due to incomplete patient
information,” Solomon said.
Top line goals for Telstra Health
also include improving the
integration of health records
and reducing hospital and aged
care admissions through “home
monitoring and care coordination”.
Consumers can be given greater
control via online transactions,
while access to specialist care in
rural areas can be enhanced via
telemedicine and videoconferences.
“Our integrated eHealth
ecosystem will be available to
millions of Australians,” Solomon
said, with the overall strategy
building on “world-class capabilities
in connectivity, technology & cloud”.
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