Integrated Telehealth capability launches

Sydney, Australia – 2  April,  2020 - The insidious nature of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) means that the dual task of providing care while preventing further infection is crucial. 

Market-leading  Health Technology company, MedicalDirector which enables over 80 million consultations annually through its software platforms, is amongst the first to respond. An upgrade to their Electronic Health Record (EHR) software has made seamless Telehealth a reality for the majority of GPs across Australia. The upgrade is now available for customers of the cloud-based EHR software, Helix. Integration of the cloud-based Helix Telehealth solution to the desktop product, MedicalDirector Clinical, will follow within days. 

In an effort to support the crucial needs of general practice during this time, MedicalDirector has made the Telehealth functionality free* for at least three months. They have also partnered with Microsoft to secure substantial discounts on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 for Business and applicable accessories, to assist with any initial infrastructure needs of practices and have been working with the NBN on a solution to help support practices with their increased bandwidth requirements. 

These efforts will see more GPs being able to schedule and conduct Telehealth consultations without disruption to their regular processes – a necessity in reducing clinical risk in the servicing of remote care.  

“We had our busiest day ever yesterday, with 63 patients. 25 of these were Telehealth consults. We could not have done this without Helix as part of our team.” – Natalie Young, Practice Manager at Scotts Head Medical .

With Helix, patients will be sent a secure link prior to their consultation, while GPs can simply launch a Telehealth consultation from within the patient record. Unlike alternative solutions, that use multiple devices or applications, GPs can update the patient notes and history in an alongside window utilising a safe connection and without the risk of having the wrong patient record open during a Telehealth consultation. Importantly for Coronavirus-related consultations, Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fees will update automatically in Helix. 

With ~94% of general practices in Australia already turning to Telehealth to support consultations during COVID-19**, MedicalDirector CEO, Matthew Bardsley says the role of MedicalDirector and Health Technology is clear.  

“For more than 25 years, MedicalDirector has remained committed to enabling ideal. In times of crisis, this means keeping practice staff safe, helping to prevent further infection, and giving healthcare professionals the freedom and the tools to perform their life-changing work from anywhere.” 

Dr Charlotte Middleton, GP and Chief Medical Officer, MedicalDirector acknowledged that Australia’s medical community is facing an unprecedented health emergency. “General Practitioners are having to learn new ways of delivering medicine to continue supporting their patients. Any technology that can help streamline the transition to Telehealth during this time will prove invaluable”, she said. 

Rachel Bondi, Chief Partner Officer, Microsoft Australia congratulated MedicalDirector on the speed with which it has moved to support clients at this difficult time. “Maintaining the health and wellbeing of people is the paramount consideration for all of us, and the ability for GPs to offer Telehealth consultations is enormously important. 

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