The National Telehealth Conference will take place on the 7-8 March 2024 at the Hilton Sydney. Meet a variety of different people outside your existing network, discuss common challenges and exchange learnings about telehealth and virtual care in Australia.
The great thing about this event is that the content is focused and relatable, but the audience is really diverse. You will meet people you’ve never met before who may offer alternative perspectives and ideas you might not otherwise have considered.
So who attends? It’s a really good mix of people from public hospitals and LHDs, PHNs and primary care providers, aged care, allied health, private health providers, health insurers, government departments and agencies, telehealth companies, telehealth technology and software providers and many more. And because it’s a conference, not a large trade show, you’re actually likely to have really meaningful conversations with people rather than just a brief business card exchange.
Topics to be addressed include:
- Strategic planning and implementation of virtual care
- Staff engagement on virtual care – what is important to staff and what impacts clinical decisions?
- Telehealth Phone vs Video
- Fragmentation of care – addressing how we link public, private and primary care
- What does the consumer want in this space and how do we feed that back through in our systems?
- Enhancing telehealth experiences – exploring ways to provide more comprehensive virtual care services
- The rise of ChatGPT (and other large language models) – how does this impact and apply to virtual care models?
- Remote monitoring – what sort of settings and patients is it beneficial for?
- Where is there opportunity to be able to implement virtual care across the care journey?
- Privacy, security and legal considerations
- Case studies! We’re interested in paediatrics, corrections, mental health, first responders and innovative models of care!
CALL FOR SPEAKERS!
Get in touch if you’re interested in speaking, and/or nominate topic ideas that you would like to see featured.
For speaker submissions, please include the following information:
- Name, job title, organisation
- Suggested topic/ theme you can speak to
- 3-5 bullet points explaining your main discussion points (40 words max.)
- Would you like to join a panel discussion? Please list the topic areas you’re comfortable
- Would you like to facilitate a workshop? Please suggest workshop topics
To submit and for any queries, please contact:
Frankie Brewer
francesca.brewer@informa.com
Connect Virtual Care
The event will take place as part of 2024’s CONNECT VIRTUAL CARE event. We’re bringing together three related, but distinct events which will be co-located at the Hilton Sydney. One pass gives access to all three conferences
Speakers
Dr Sarah Robinson
Director of Delivery, Eastern AHSN (Academic Health Science Network), Implementation Lead, NIHR ARC East of England
Prof Mark Arnold
Chief Medical Officer, Western NSW LHD
Chenyao (Jerry) Yu
General Manager, Virtual Care and Hospital in the Home Services, Northern Sydney Local Health District
A/Prof Michael Franco
Interim Executive Director Digital Health, Medical Oncologist & Palliative Medicine Physician, Monash Health
Mark Burdack
CEO, Healthy Communities Foundation Australia Ltd
Dr Jennie Hutton
Emergency Physician, Senior Research Fellow La Trobe and Melbourne University. Priority Population Lead VVED, Northern Health
Julia Conway
Acting Director, Hospital Policy, IHACPA
Ella Cannon
Principal and Director, Hive Legal
A/Prof Stephen Adelstein
Practitioner Member, Medical Board of Australia and Chair, Medical Training Survey Steering Committee and Consultative Forum
Shane Delves
A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
Dr Meg O’Connell
Medical Lead – Telehealth, RFDS Queensland Section
Ian Galvin
CEO, Ramsay Connect
Joshua Tatham
Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Activity Based Management Health System Support Group, NSW Health
Jen Wilson
Principal Policy Officer, Virtual Care Unit, NSW Ministry of Health
Susan Massey
Senior Policy Officer, Virtual Care Unit, NSW Ministry of Health
Dr Joanna Lawrence
Consultant Paediatrician, Researcher and VVED Paediatric Clinical Lead, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Sarah McRae
Chief Executive Officer, Calvary-Medibank Joint Venture
Voni Leighton
Board member, HITH Society of Australasia
Associate Professor Tam C. Nguyen
Deputy Director Research, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
A/Prof Chris Pearce
Chair, ACRRM Digital Health Committee
Joseph Agius
Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Multi-disciplinary Foot Telehealth Team, Central Adelaide Local Health Network – Royal Adelaide Hospital
Sonja Rogasch
High Risk Foot Coordinator, Central Adelaide Local Health Network – Royal Adelaide Hospital
Kristen Short
Director Partnerships and Innovation, South Western Sydney PHN
Shannon Wallis
Nurse Unit Manager, Preventative Integrated Care Service, West Morton Health
Alanna Sherry
Project Coordinator, Mental Health, COORDINARE – South Eastern NSW PHN
Dr Matt Vickers
Clinical Director, Eucalyptus
Mona Thind
Director, Strategy, Investment, Strategy and Architecture, eHealth NSW
Luke Wiseman
Chief Superintendent, Associate Director Clinical Operations, Hunter New England Sector, NSW Ambulance
Jonathan Holt
General Manager Mental Health Services, Hunter New England Health
Matthew Scott
Peer Support Worker, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
Mandy Smith
Mental Health First Responder & Virtual Care Coordinator, Hunter New England Mental Health
Ilma Rahmathullah
Business Solution Analyst,
Catholic Healthcare
Dr Peter Baird
Senior Medical Advisor,
Amplar Health
Gemma Czech
Clinical Nurse Lead for Virtual Wards, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
Andy Bailey
Operations Manager Virtual Wards, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
Maree Devitt
Country Manager, ANZ, Masimo
Maree Devitt
Country Manager, ANZ,
Masimo
AGENDA
08:30
Registration & Morning Coffee
09:00
DAY ONE OPENING
09:05
Opening remarks from the Chair
Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
09:10
INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE | Real-world evaluations of virtual care and out of hospital care
Sarah will summarise recent real-world evaluations from across the Health Innovation Network across England, focusing on equity of access, staff experience of innovative ways of delivering care, and evidencing impact to ensure sustainability of innovations. The presentation will cover a breadth of health conditions.
Dr Sarah Robinson, Director of Delivery, Health Innovation East, Implementation Lead, NIHR ARC East of England
09:40
CASE STUDY | Learnings from the world’s oldest and longest running telehealth service
- Delivering healthcare to patients in the most remote parts of Australia
- Learnings from providing services which require multiple logistics and aircraft
- 24hr access to emergency telehealth and telepharmacy
- Latest virtual care projects
Dr Meg O’Connell, Medical Lead – Telehealth, RFDS Queensland Section
10:10
FIRESIDE CHAT | Counting and costing virtual care activity
- Understanding and working through the challenges of classifying, counting, costing, and funding virtual care
- What are the recommendations, guidance and advice to ensure that virtual care activity is reflective of current virtual care service models and responsive to future innovative care?
- As the sophistication of VC increases and moves at scale away from a “purely” telehealth focussed model.
- How the activity for virtual care is collected and subsequently funded.
Julia Conway, Acting Director, Hospital Policy, IHACPA
Joshua Tatham, Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Activity Based Management
Health System Support Group, NSW Health
Moderator: Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
10:40
Networking Break & Morning Tea
11:25
Virtual Care, a Reality not a Dream! Cambridge University Hospital Virtual Ward Implementation Model
- CUH Virtual Ward @ home (Cambridge University Hospitals)
- Challenges CUH faced/why implemented VW?
- The journey so far and working with stakeholders (the concept and stakeholders)
- What is the equipment needed and platform/technology selection
- The daily management: referral, onboarding, care plan…. How do we manage telephone and video, workforce
- Performance and pathways
- Patient experience
- Challenges and obstacles overcome
- Next steps
Gemma Czech, Clinical Nurse Lead for Virtual Wards, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
Andy Bailey, Operations Manager Virtual Wards, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
11:50
Integrating virtual care into services – lessons learnt
- An overview of the NSW Virtual Care Strategy (2021-2026) and overarching outcomes
- Background overview of the Virtual Hospital in the Home initiative, the measures for success and governance
- Key identifiable lessons learnt for successful implementation, including foundations for sustaining and scaling the initiative
Jen Wilson, Principal Policy Officer, Virtual Care Unit, NSW Ministry of Health
Susan Massey, Senior Policy Officer, Virtual Care Unit, NSW Ministry of Health
12:20
CASE STUDY | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – Telehealth Foot Service
- A continuity-of-care approach to improving outcomes for diabetes-related foot complications in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- How the telehealth High-risk foot services (HRFS) work
- Key achievements of the service
- Future steps
Joseph Agius, Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Multi-disciplinary Foot Telehealth Team, Central Adelaide Local Health Network – Royal Adelaide Hospital
Sonja Rogasch, High Risk Foot Coordinator, Central Adelaide Local Health Network – Royal Adelaide Hospital
12:50
A word from our Connect Virtual Care Lunch Sponsor: Masimo
Maree Devitt, Country Manager, ANZ, Masimo
13:00
Networking Lunch
14:00
To AI or Not To AI.. that is the question
- Is using AI always the right choice
- What to consider when using AI in a virtual care setting
- Guardails to safeguard the use of AI
- Asking the right questions
Mona Thind, Director, Strategy, Investment, Strategy and Architecture, eHealth NSW
14:30
PANEL | Enhancing telehealth – exploring ways to provide a more comprehensive telehealth service
- What are some of the emerging devices and technologies which can enhance TH models of care? i.e. Remote monitoring, VR, AR, ChatGPT and other technologies
- What is emerging from a virtual care perspective that has shown value?
- Technology platforms – what they can do and what they can’t
- How are these emerging technologies being implemented and what are the barriers to implementation?
- Do all the emerging technologies work for all patient groups? Where are they a help and where are they a hindrance?
Kristen Short, Director Partnerships and Innovation, South Western Sydney PHN
Shannon Wallis, Nurse Unit Manager, Preventative Integrated Care Service, West Morton Health
Mona Thind, Director, Strategy, Investment, Strategy and Architecture, eHealth NSW
Ilma Rahmathullah, Business Solution Analyst, Catholic Healthcare
Dr Peter Baird, Senior Medical Advisor, Amplar Health
Moderator: Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
15:15
Afternoon Networking
15:40
PHN-commissioned mental health services: Consumer and provider experiences of telehealth
- How do mental health consumers use telehealth?
- Does rurality or acuity affect the quality of service?
- What are the barriers and enablers for consumers and service providers?
- Is telehealth just phone and video appointments?
- Opportunities for remote monitoring of consumers’ mental health
Alanna Sherry, Project Coordinator, Mental Health, COORDINARE – South Eastern NSW PHN
16:10
CASE STUDY | First responders and keeping patients in the community
- Police and Ambulance video consults with mental health clinicians – does the patient need to come to the facility?
- Virtual options which help patients stay closer to home
- What really happens with this on the ground?
Mandy Smith, Mental Health First Responder & Virtual Care Coordinator, Hunter New England Mental Health
Luke Wiseman, Chief Superintendent, Associate Director Clinical Operations, Hunter New England Sector, NSW Ambulance
Jonathan Holt, General Manager Mental Health Services, Hunter New England Health
16:40
PANEL | HITH Vs Virtual Hospitals
- What is the difference?
- Is language preventing us from thinking more broadly about innovative care?
- Who is responsible for what?
- Where are we headed?
Chenyao (Jerry) Yu, General Manager, Virtual Care and Hospital in the Home Services, Northern Sydney Local Health District
Dr Joanna Lawrence, Consultant Paediatrician, Researcher and VVED Paediatric Clinical Lead, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Sarah McRae, Chief Executive Officer, Calvary Amplar Health Joint Venture
Voni Leighton, Board member, HITH Society of Australasia
Moderator: Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
This session will host both the HITH conference and the telehealth audience
17:25
Networking drinks & end day 1
08:30
Registration & Morning Coffee
09:00
DAY ONE OPENING
09:10
Opening remarks from the Chair
Associate Professor Tam C. Nguyen, Deputy Director Research, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
09:15
When to.. When not.. How does one decide?
Making decisions on when it is and not appropriate to use virtual care can be quite complex, so many considerations from a clinical and consumer perspective. The ACI has developed in partnership with clinicians and consumers a framework to assist in making decisions about the most suitable mode to provide or access healthcare. We call it our Virtual Care Informed Decision Framework and this session will unpack the framework and advise of the insights of the pilot.
Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
09:45
PANEL | Staff engagement – what do medical staff think about virtual care?
- What is important to medical staff when it comes to virtual care?
- What impacts clinical decisions? What makes a difference to them?
- Telehealth Phone Vs Video?
- How do you effectively engage with medical staff and bring people on board?
Prof Mark Arnold, Chief Medical Officer, Western NSW LHD
Michael Franco, Interim Executive Director Digital Health, Medical Oncologist & Palliative Medicine Physician, Monash Health
A/Prof Chris Pearce, Chair, ACRRM Digital Health Committee
10:30
Morning Networking Break
11:10
Regulating technology-based practice
A/Prof Stephen Adelstein, Practitioner Member, Medical Board of Australia and Chair, Medical Training Survey Steering Committee and Consultative Forum
11:40
How national telehealth standards can improve integration with the public health system
- Do the Medical Board’s telehealth guidelines tell the full story?
- Are national standards for telehealth platforms needed to deal with clinical governance, security of health data, quality of prescribing decisions and avoidance of errors?
- Who should be responsible for promulgating these standards and why?
- How can we reduce the number of avoidable hospital presentations and why are national standards important for clinicians in the public health system to support this?
Dr Matt Vickers, Clinical Director, Eucalyptus
12:00
Where is privacy going and how can we prepare ourselves?
- Upcoming proposed privacy reforms and how they might impact collection and handling of health records
- Why is this important, and relevance to different stakeholders in the virtual care environment
- Changes to privacy-related patient consent requirements (and how this ties in with clinical and financial consent)
- What you can do now to prepare for these reforms
Ella Cannon, Principal, Hive Legal
12:30
Networking Lunch
13:30
CASE STUDY | Avoiding the pilot graveyard – Ramsay Connect Virtual’s journey from pilot to pioneering care in the missing middle
- The leap of faith required to pilot virtual services without any sustained funding
- Outcomes of the leap: Service evolution, challenges and lessons learned
- What a funded future looks like
Ian Galvin, CEO, Ramsay Connect
14:00
CASE STUDY | The role of community co-design in the delivery of high quality and effective telehealth care
- Assessing telehealth solutions rolled out during COVID and unpacking the limitations of these models
- How deep engagement with consumers and clinicians in the design of telehealth solutions provides an alternative pathway for designing Telehealth services that ensure clinical quality, while responding to the identified needs of the communities they
- Independent analysis of a new HealthAccess Telehealth service which is using a consumer co-design approach showing significant savings to health system providers and high levels of engagement
- Two case studies demonstrating how community and clinician co-design can contribute to quality services that can achieve both high satisfaction and genuine cost-effectiveness for providers
- The co-design of low acuity continuity of care model for rural communities
- The co-design of a hybrid model of care for residents of aged care facilities
Mark Burdack, CEO, Healthy Communities Foundation Australia Ltd
14:30
My homelessness journey – A real world view on the accessibility of virtual care
Matthew Scott, Peer Support Worker, St Vincents Hospital Melbourne
14:45
PANEL | Increasing accessibility – are we getting virtual healthcare to the people who need it
most?
- Beyond the general population – who are the people who can benefit most from virtual care and how are we reaching them? People with disabilities? CALD communities? Homeless? Rural and regional populations?
- What does the data telling us about the impact of virtual care and where are the examples of success?
- Are we reaching the right people with virtual care or are we creating increasing inequity?
- How can we improve telehealth and virtual care to deliver to diverse populations?
Dr Jennie Hutton, Emergency Physician, Senior Research Fellow La Trobe and Melbourne University. Priority Population Lead VVED, Northern Health
Mark Burdack, CEO, Healthy Communities Foundation Australia Ltd
Dr Meg O’Connell, Medical Lead – Telehealth, RFDS Queensland Section
Matthew Scott, Peer Support Worker, St Vincents Hospital Melbourne
15:30
Close of conference
Venue
Hilton Sydney
488 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
To book your stay at The Hilton Sydney simply copy and paste the URL below into your browser to access the exclusive rate:
Booking Link: GROUP ACCOMMODATION (hilton.com)
Group Name: Group Accommodation DYN10
Discount: 10% off Hotel’s Best Available (Flexible) Rate
Booking method: via link or Guests can also book by calling our central reservations by providing a group code.
Phone number: +1300 445 866
Group code: G10DYN
Cancellation Policy: 1 day prior to arrival
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