ALISON VERHOEVEN Chief Executive AHHA
Now is not the time to shy away from innovation— and health reform
Welcome to our COVID-19 themed August 2020 issue of The Health Advocate. The response from members and others to our call for articles has been overwhelming, leading to the biggest issue we have ever published.
opportunities which should continue to be leveraged in a post-pandemic world. Patients rightly expect that the positive benefits experienced with these models of care during COVID-19 will continue now and into the future.
While it’s new times for The Health Advocate, so it is for AHHA as well, as we welcome a new Board Chair, the Hon. Jillian Skinner, and say goodbye to Dr Deborah Cole, who has fulfilled the role with distinction over the last 3 years, but will continue to be associated with AHHA as Immediate Past Chair on the Board, and in chairing the Australian Centre for Value-Based Health Care Advisory Committee.
Telehealth
Change is in the wind for our health system as well, and many of the articles in this issue of THA highlight new ways of doing things and new ways of thinking. AHHA has been active on several fronts in that space too, and I’d like to share with you a couple of our recent efforts.
Time to do things differently COVID-19 has undoubtedly provided the challenge of the century to our health system, but it has also kick-started some much-needed disruption to areas of healthcare which have been characterised by inertia and an unwillingness of both funders and providers to do things differently, regardless of the opportunities available.
Telehealth and virtual healthcare stand out as 6
The Health Advocate • AUGUST 2020
In a Perspectives Brief, Providing telehealth in general practice during COVID-19 and beyond, published by our Deeble Institute for Health Policy Research in July, South Australian GP Dr Chris Bollen and Deeble Institute Director Dr Rebecca Haddock provide case studies which demonstrate the opportunities to improve health outcomes and patient experience of care through use of telehealth consultations in general practice. Six case studies demonstrate ‘at the coalface’ how telehealth can benefit GPs, maximise equity of access to healthcare, and support patients in developing their own health knowledge and skills. They include team-based care models using telehealth and primary care nurses to improve management of chronic disease, especially in older patients with multiple and complex chronic conditions. Co-author of the Perspectives Brief, Dr Chris Bollen, said GPs were finding that their daily workflows had changed for the better through having telehealth consultation options as well as traditional face-to-face contact with patients.
