DR MARK BROWN Chief Dental Officer, Queensland Health
Teledentistry in Darling Downs Health All over the world, healthcare providers are looking at how we can harness the power of technology to make healthcare more accessible to patients. The oral health sector is no different. Over the last few years, teledentistry has enabled oral health practitioners to provide more patient-centred and integrated care. It does this by enabling patients to access care closer to home, and by fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among clinics. Teledentistry was initially trialled at Darling Downs Health (DDH) in 2014 and has since been rolled out to a further seven Rural Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) across the region—Miles, Toowoomba, Oakey and Warwick, and at Millmerran, Inglewood and Texas Multipurpose Health Services. The main objectives are to provide optimal oral health services to Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) residents while minimising resident
assessments. The oral health practitioner consults with nursing staff about their findings and receives live advice from a dentist via a TeleDental consult if and when required. Before the introduction of teledentistry, a dentist from a DDH oral health clinic would visit an RACF. If a resident required dental treatment, they needed to travel, either with the Queensland Ambulance Service or a family member, to an oral
discomfort and disruptions to daily routine, and maximising dentists’ clinical time. DDH sends an oral health practitioner to the RACFs to conduct oral health audits and
health clinic. Referrals were received, variously, from residents, family members and/or staff, and treatment was sometimes ad hoc. This was a heavy burden for family members, RACF nursing staff and
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The Health Advocate • MAY 2020
