Virtual care has long been on the agenda of many health care organisations. Then when the COVID-19 pandemic hit it became a strategic imperative. By October 2020, there were more than 4 million telehealth consultations a month across Australia, with 92 per cent being by phone.
Despite the enthusiasm, many organisations are struggling to get it right. Individual initiatives – say, telehealth consultations or digital information sharing – are implemented but fail to have a sustained impact. Organisations often find multidisciplinary team work is harder in a virtual care environment, and coordination across service and disciplines is lacking.
Why? In our experience, effective virtual care must be grounded in a virtual care model that maps out the organisation’s virtual care vision and shows how to achieve it.
How the right virtual care model can improve outcomes for patients and the health system
Nous is supporting many organisations to develop their virtual care models and bring them to life.
Virtual care helps to deliver four interlocking aims that are vital to health care organisations.
What are the drivers of virtual care?
Given these aims, contemporary drivers of virtual care include pressure to reduce hospitalisation rates, a desire to reduce disruption to patients’ and families’ lives and the challenge to traditional delivery methods posed by social distancing requirements.
As we emerge from COVID-19, there are signs that a lack of patient access to their GP has prompted a later increase in presentations to emergency departments, showing the need for a greater role for virtual care.
IMPROVED PATIENT EXPERIENCE
IMPROVED STAFF EXPERIENCE
LOWER
COSTS
IMPROVED CLINICAL OUTCOMES
The full potential of virtual care is only unlocked when health leaders embrace a bottom-up and transformative approach to implementation.
Benefits from this approach include:
What are the benefits of a comprehensive virtual care model?
by coordinating different virtual care elements to create an integrated service model for the entirety of the health and wellbeing journey.
INTEGRATION
by connecting the different parts of the broader health system, including primary and secondary care, research, technology providers and education.
EFFICIENCY
by providing a new approach to health system issues, such as maldistribution of health professionals and inequity of access and outcomes.
EQUITY
by making it easier for patients and clinicians to participate in care and treatment.
INCLUSION
Nous’ approach to developing a virtual care model focuses on four factors.
These factors will build a robust virtual care model suited to an organisation and its patients. Hover over the buttons below to reveal more.
How do we develop a virtual care model?
1
vision
2
technology
3
physical
assets
4
workforce
The aspirational view of the aims of the model
The platforms, programs and devices required to achieve the virtual care vision
The physical space required to operate a virtual care centre
The knowledge, skills and attributes of the organisation’s people
A successful model of virtual care will impact all aspects of a health organisation, improving the experience of all users, including patients, clinicians and administrators. Click the buttons below to explore the different touchpoints.
What are the touchpoints of virtual care?
An effective model of virtual care is empowered by a physical space that is designed for the purpose.
The virtual care space will connect patients, families, staff, primary care practitioners and ambulatory staff to effectively deliver care. It needs to be designed according to how users will interact with the space, be flexible to scaling demands and be able to incorporate technology changes. Often existing spaces can be redesigned for this purpose, so the capital outlay need not necessarily be high. Click on the graphic to explore the full network.
How should the physical space be designed?
We worked with the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network to develop a highly innovative Next Generation Children’s Care Centre model, including developing a physical Virtual Care Centre. Nous collaborated with staff to develop an aspirational vision for the future virtual care centre, a map of the technology and digital needs to deliver that vision and the physical infrastructure required. We also charted the knowledge, skills and attributes of the organisation's people required to deliver the vision. Nous later prepared a business case for government funding.
Sydney Children's Hospital
University of New England
Tab 03
Tab 04
Where has this been successfully implemented?
We worked with the University of New England to establish the New England Virtual Health Network, an innovative in-place learning and health care model enabled by virtual health infrastructure. Over a year Nous and the university team designed the full project concept, engaged in stakeholder consultation, conducted a detailed cost-benefit analysis, developed communications collateral and prepared an implementation plan.
What are the drivers of virtual care?
What are the benefits of a comprehensive virtual care model?
How do we develop a virtual care model?
What are the touchpoints of virtual care?
How should the physical space be designed?
Where has this been successfully implemented?
Which Nous experts can guide you through?
Which Nous experts can guide you through?
Raj Verma brings deep executive-level experience in clinical, operational and ministry settings in the Australian health sector. Raj has driven the strategy, testing and adoption of alternative settings for care, including hospital in the home and telehealth. He has championed the inclusion of significant consumer engagement at the core of health care innovation.
Heidi Wilcoxon has 20 years of experience in public, private and not-for-profit environments. Her experience spans public health strategy and policy, patient experience, translational research, cancer control, health service design and evaluation, and population health. Heidi has worked on operating model design and cultural change projects to build leadership and capability in health care organisations.
Ian Thompson has 25 years of experience in operational management of hospital, community health and mental health services at the state and federal levels. His expertise includes leadership of strategic and operational health service planning, design and implementation of major health infrastructure projects; and developing and implementing health service performance frameworks.
Health services need to seize the moment to embed virtual care, by Raj Verma
Contact Nous Group to discuss how we can help your organisations develop a virtual care model.
Where can I find out more?
Watch Nous Principal Raj Verma explain the potential of virtual care.
PATIENT CARE
COORDINATED CARE
ACCESS TO CARE
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
VIDEO CONFERENCING
Includes normal and high definition video to deliver remote diagnoses and education
REMOTE MONITORING
Includes remote monitors (hospital, community or home based) wearables and other monitoring equipment.
VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY
Animating remote patient or clinical education.
LOGISTIC PROBLEMS
Using drone and other technology to deliver alternative transport and supply chains (for pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and other items).
SCHEDULING
Right clinicians, right patient/family, right equipment, right time. Enabling scaling of virtual care.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Access to shared patient notes, results, care plans, risks, etc connecting all care providers, including family carers.
CONNECT CENTRE
Single centre for multiple access points, consumer advice, navigation to the right care.
WEB PORTAL
Patient portals, referral advice, non-urgent access points. Internal and external facing..
DATA ANALYTICS AND AI
Analytics to improve patient care and system performance including predictive information and alerts.
COMMAND CENTRE
CONNECTION CENTRE
ONE-TO-ONE COMMUNICATION ROOMS
ONE-TO-MANY COMMUNICATION ROOMS
ONE-TO-ONE COMUNICATION ROOMS
CONNECTION CENTRE
COMMAND CENTRE
ONE-TO-MANY COMMUNICATION ROOMS
VR
and AR simulation
CPD and education
Patient care and education
Primary care team
Connect with family
Allied health
Care coordinators
Multi-discipline care team
Long-term care team
Specialist and sub-specialists
Frontline and triage
Advice facilitation
Referral and scheduling
eReferral
Appointment scheduling
Out-patient referral
Data analytics & AI
Remote care and monitor team
Demand prediction
Rapid deterioration (flagging and triggering action)
Disaster response
Hospital operations and patient flow
Staff (schedules, workload)
VIRTUAL HOSPITAL NETWORK
Health professionals, patients and families
Functions and roles in those rooms
Physical rooms in the virtual care centre
CAREERS
NOUS HOUSE
PRIVACY
LEGAL AND GOVERNANCE
CONTACT US
@ 2021 Nous Group
Raj Verma
Principal
Raj brings deep executive-level experience in clinical, operational and ministry settings in the Australian health sector. He has designed and delivered transformational change programs at the local and state level; including new models of emergency access, ambulance reform and creating comprehensive integrated chronic disease
management programs.
Heidi Wilcoxon
Principal
Heidi brings over 20 years of international health experience in public, private and NFP environments, with expertise in public health and a background in psychology. She has experience running national health evaluations, organisational and health policy reviews and a deep understanding of patient experience, vulnerable...
Ian Thompson
Principal
Ian has 25 years of experience in Australian healthcare, ranging from operational management of hospital, community and mental health services to participation in national policy development. His mental health experience includes work on development and implementation of the National Mental Health Strategy, national mental health data...
Raj Verma
Principal
Heidi Wilcoxon
Principal
Ian Thompson
Principal