{"id":4244,"date":"2014-05-07T01:43:21","date_gmt":"2014-05-06T15:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/?p=4244"},"modified":"2015-04-29T11:51:31","modified_gmt":"2015-04-29T01:51:31","slug":"world-class-medical-care-for-kids-only-a-a-video-link-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/world-class-medical-care-for-kids-only-a-a-video-link-away\/","title":{"rendered":"World-class medical care for kids only a a video link away"},"content":{"rendered":"

GPs and paediatricians in Shepparton can save their young patients a five-hour roundtrip to Melbourne by using The Royal Children\u2019s Hospital\u2019s (RCH) Telehealth Program<\/a>, which enables patients and their local clinicians to connect with its paediatric specialists via a video link.<\/p>\n

\"RESIZEDvideo6514a\"<\/a>
Tom with mum Janet. Photo: Shepparton News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RCH Developmental Medicine paediatrician Dr Kate Thomson Bowe said the Telehealth video consults improve health outcomes by promoting better communication between multiple clinicians involved in patient\u2019s care. They also save patients and their families time and money by reducing the need to travel long distances for medical appointments.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the Telehealth Program, the patient\u2019s local doctor continues to be their main healthcare professional but they then also have easy access to sub-speciality services, for instance a paediatric cardiologist,\u201d Dr Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelehealth also provides excellent learning opportunities through up-skilling local clinicians and co-consultation with sub-specialists,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In Shepparton, the Judd family has been one of Telehealth\u2019s beneficiaries. Janet Judd\u2019s 12-year-old son Tom has cerebral palsy and her family make numerous trips to Melbourne each year for his appointments at the RCH.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom has a complex condition and requires medical care from around 12 different health professionals. We also have to make the five-hour return trip to the RCH for appointments up to six times a year, which means a full day off school for Tom and time away from work for us. It also takes a toll financially with travel costs,\u201d Janet said.<\/p>\n

\"RESIZEDvideo6514c\"<\/a>
Telehealth consultation: RCH Developmental Medicine specialist Dr Kate Thomson (left) talks to Janet, Tom and local paediatrician Dr Peter Estaugh (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTelehealth has been amazing for us. Not only does it save us the long trip, it means that our local paediatrician can also be involved in consultations with our RCH doctors, which is a huge benefit for Tom and the level of care he is given. And we don\u2019t even need to leave the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

RCH Telehealth Program Manager Susan Jury encouraged Shepparton GPs and paediatricians to use the program, saying the only requirement to take part was to have a computer with internet access and a webcam. Clinicians who register for the program before June 30 this year are also be eligible for start-up incentives of up to \u00a0$3,600 through Medicare.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo now is the time to get involved,\u201d Susan said.<\/p>\n

Local specialists have supported the initiative. Shepparton paediatrician, Dr Peter Eastaugh, said Telehealth can give patients access to complex sub-specialty services that, in many cases, would not otherwise be available.<\/p>\n

Director of Paediatrics at Goulburn Valley Health, Dr Dan Garrick, agreed. \u201cFor complex patients who need more specialised care, Telehealth is invaluable as it provides both the patient and doctor with access to the level of care and medical support required.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out more about Telehealth here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Telehealth program improves communication between multiple clinicians and saves families time and money by reducing the need to travel long distances for medical appointments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":4261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4244"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4260,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4244\/revisions\/4260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}