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Health Industry Media Release – 17 July 06 As good as Gold – Rural GPs prepared to pay for technology which provides better health care connections than doctors have in Australian cities. “While the rest of the world talks about making better connections in health, we’ve actually just gone out and done it and the results are amazing. So much so that we’re prepared to put our money where our mouths are and now pay for this ourselves for the benefits of our patients.” So says WA Goldfields general practitioner Dr Andrew Siegmund, talking about the results of a unique experiment funded by the Australian Government, the benefits of which have been so significant that it will become a permanent feature of health care in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. “As a result of this project our GPs have in general - access to more sophisticated, more effective and indeed cheaper communications than doctors in the cities. They can video conference, get expert advice about patients, do electronic referrals so that hospitals and specialists have comprehensive information about the patient when they need it. And because it’s what’s called a Virtual Private Network (VPN) it’s secure and confidentiality is protected,” claims Dr Siegmund. “And on the cost side, our phone bills have been slashed at the same time as having broadband access to the Internet so we can download the latest global research to help our patients and keep us up to date.” “What will now be known as GoldHealth started as the Australian Government funded Eastern Goldfields Regional Reference Site (EGRRS). What delights us is that over 90% of the medical practices and health establishments in the region including two hospitals and the Rural Clinical School have decided to continue the GoldHealth network at their own cost.” explains project manager, Belinda Truman. ”This indicates the value the participants place on the network and gives us a foundation to build the next stage of e-health services and to further improve health outcomes for the region. The network connects some of the most isolated health professionals in Australia and actually makes a difference to ordinary people’s lives. The area covered is a third of the landmass of Western Australia and has a population of about 60,000 people served by nearly 50 GPs.” says Peter Riella, CEO of IP Systems, the company which provided the technology. “Having the support of the whole community was a key to success, as was having thoroughly consulted about health professionals’ and patients’ needs before designing the system.” "The GoldHealth Network has improved efficiency in managing my patients and my practice, allowing the rapid movement of critical clinical information regarding patients and improving communication between the GP and specialists," says Dr Siegmund. The local Division of General Practice is also delighted with the EGGRS project. “It has been so well received by participants that it’s now able to be sustained as a viable network under the name of Gold Health,” says Terry Keating, Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Goldfields Medical Division of General Practice. “The GPs and practices throughout the region have embraced the concept and recognised that there are significant benefits. Just as importantly, GPs throughout the region have realised that e-health is a part of the future of medicine and primary care and GoldHealth is at the forefront of it." Background Scope The network has over 70 participant sites including the majority of General Practices, practitioner’s homes, Aboriginal controlled medical services, specialists, the Division, Pharmacies and Aged Care as well as hospitals from Wiluna to Kalgoorlie to Esperance. The range of uses includes access to a secure broadband connectivity to/from both GPs’ rooms (via direct cable connection or satellite technology, depending on location) and the private residences of GPs. There are also: - electronic discharges, - secure email between health practitioners, - access to online health related reference and information services applications, - desktop and meeting room video conferencing, - voice over IP, - receipt of radiology and pathology results electronically - receipt of specialist reports electronically - access to HIC online - Secure Remote Access into patient notes for GPs from their homes and the Hospitals Funding The GoldHealth project commenced as the Eastern Goldfields Regional Reference Site (EGRRS), which was funded by the Department of Health and Ageing. Usage (e.g. phone calls and excess internet downloads) were borne by the participants directly. With the transition to GoldHealth the participants fund the project. Business benefits to GPs Greater health efficiencies have been realised using electronic communication rather than traditional or manual methods. This means that information is available almost immediately rather than waiting for hard copies to reach remote and rural areas. There has also been a reduction in travel costs with health practitioners also having access to more information than previously available. Lower costs – phone calls to all customers on the GoldHealth network are free with untimed rates to capital cities and between GoldHealth regions. Converged service means only one broadband cost for voice and data – no need to have both phone lines and separate data connection. IP Systems The GoldHealth network is built and operated on behalf of GoldHealth by Australian company, IP Systems. IP Systems’ business is about bringing all an organisation’s communications under one ‘roof’ so to speak. This is the leading Australian provider of multiservice communications networks and integrated applications engineered to the highest standards for security and performance. The company has been providing hosted business applications and network services to Australian corporations for over 13 years and provides voice, video data networks to a growing number of residential and regional communities. IP Systems uses Cisco technology and operates accredited Cisco Powered services that place the company in an elite group of service providers worldwide. In the case of GoldHealth, access to the network is available via major terrestrial networks and two-way satellite access is provided to remote sites for all services including voice and video conferencing. IP Systems has engineered the service to ensure that security, voice and video quality are guaranteed from end to end throughout the entire network. The service includes our proven designs and project implementation. IP Systems manages the network from end to end all the way to the desktop. Detailed performance and fault monitoring and reporting is available to technical staff via a customer portal.
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