Telehealth pilot gets underway

About 100 Queenslanders with chronic diseases will take part in an innovative telehealth project over the next 18 months.

[Left to right:] Tunstall Healthcare’s Managing Director, Stanley Ng, Queensland Health Minister, Stephen Robertson, and Ipswich Community Aid’s CEO, Erik Jansink.

Queensland Health Minister, Stephen Robertson has launched an innovative telehealth project in Ipswich.

The 18-month Telehealth Lifestyle Coordination (TLC) project will monitor and manage older people with chronic disease, who live in their own homes.

Supported by Ipswich Community Aid and Tunstall Healthcare, the pilot aims to demonstrate that telehealth solutions offer a viable alternative to hospital care.

Telehealth enables patients who don’t need constant supervision to maintain as normal a life as possible, while managing their illness.

Telehealth devices can monitor vital signs, such as blood pressure and heart rate, and provide alerts about things like falls and medication.

Mr Robertson has shown ongoing support for the use of telehealth.

“The benefit of telehealth services lies in removing physical and social distances between health professionals and patients without affecting the quality of care provided,” Mr Robertson said.

“This project is an approach we can learn from to deliver to Queenslanders improved and expanded health services”

It is expected that about 100 people will be involved in the pilot.

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