Hospital in the Home Conference
31 March – 1 April 2026
Swissotel SydneyREGISTER INTEREST BOOK NOW DOWNLOAD BROCHURE
The Hospital in the Home Conference will take place on the 31st March – 1st April at the Swissotel Sydney.
It will bring together a mix of decision makers from clinicians and hospital HITH leaders to government, private health insurers and operators, innovative service providers and more.
KEY TOPICS INCLUDE:
- Real-life experiences and challenges
- Latest innovations and research
- Managing complex medical conditions and post-surgical care
- Leveraging telehealth for consultations
- Remote monitoring devices and data integration for home patients
- Developing and managing HITH teams
- How to scale HITH services in large health systems
- Effective patient selection and assessment
- Home infusion therapy
- Ensuring safety and efficacy
- Navigating challenges and opportunities
Connect Virtual Care
The event will take place as part of 2026’s CONNECT VIRTUAL CARE event. We’re bringing together three related, but distinct events which will be co-located at the Swissotel Sydney. One pass gives access to all three conferences.
2026 Speakers
Tess van der Rijt
Chief Operating Officer, UnitingCare Hospitals
Dr Fiona Hinchliffe
Executive Director Health Integration and Community Services, Mater
Dr Robert Marshall
Chief Strategy Officer, St Vincent’s Health Australia
Dr Jacqui Irvine
Acting Director Hospital@Home, Senior Emergency Specialist, Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD
Rachelle Foxton
Allied Health Manager, Hospital in The Home & Virtual Care Service, Northern Sydney Local Health District
Michael Tresillian
HITH/General Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Metro North Health
Dr Fiona Baker
Medical Clinical Lead- GEMHITH / GEMRHITH, Clinical Director of Integrated Care, Fraser Coast
Matthias Langer
Nurse Manager – Hospital in the Home, Western Sydney Local Health District
Dr Geoff Mifsud
Head of Department, Auburn Emergency Care, Medical Lead, WSLHD Integrated and Community Health, Hospital in the Home
Glynis Sandland
Chief Executive Officer, Whakarongorau Aotearoa / New Zealand Telehealth Services
Shelley Peardon-Freeman
Allied Health Director, Health Contact Centre, Queensland Health
Deepak Biswal
Chief Executive Officer, Care Monitor
Dr Rachel David
Chief Executive Officer, Private Healthcare Australia
Rajni Nair
Nurse Unit Manager, Metro North Health
Dr Samantha Clune
Senior Research Fellow, Australian Institute for Primary Care & Ageing (AIPCA), La Trobe University
Dr Shaun Hosein
Clinical Director – Virtual and Integrated Care, Metro South Hospital and Health Service
Maria McLaughlin-Rolfe
Group General Manager- BlueCare Community Services, UnitingCare Queensland
Dr Neel Gobin
Regional Director of Medical Services, Hunter New England Local Health District (NSW)
Julia Schmidtke
Nursing Director – Patient Transfer & Integrated Care, Ambulance Tasmania
Prof Raelene Wilding
Professor of Sociology, La Trobe University
Richard Taggart
Chief Executive, eHealth NSW & Chief Information Officer, NSW Health
Dr Shannon Nott
Executive General Manager – Health & Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer, Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern Section)
Ryan Hutton
Manager – Provider Networks, nib
Shannon Wallis
Nursing Director- Preventative Health Divison, West Moreton Hospital and Health Service
Angela Smarrelli
Clinical & Programs Manager, GMHBA
A/Prof Deborah Fox
Associate Professor in Midwifery, Child and Family Health, University of Technology Sydney
Anna George
Clinical Nurse Consultant, Mater at Home- Hospital in the Home
AGENDA
08:15
Registration & Morning Coffee
08:50
DAY ONE OPENING
08:55
Opening remarks from the Chair
Michael Tresillian, HITH/General Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Metro North Health
09:00
OPENING KEYNOTE | The Hard Truth About HITH: What We Have Learned, Changed and Delivered
Tess van der Rijt, Chief Operating Officer Hospitals, UnitingCare Queensland
Maria McLaughlin-Rolfe, Group General Manager, BlueCare Community Services, UnitingCare Queensland
09:30
Inside SWIFT: Mater’s Complete Journey to Rapid-Access Hospital in the Home
Dr Fiona Hinchliffe, Executive Director Health Integration and Community Services, Mater
Anna George, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Mater at Home- Hospital in the Home, Mater
10:00
PANEL | Emergency care to Home: Care Pathways to HITH integration
Dr Geoff Mifsud, Head of Department, Auburn Emergency Care, Medical Lead, WSLHD Integrated and Community Health, Hospital in the Home
Rajni Nair, Clinical Nurse Consultant- Safety and Quality, Virtual Emergency Care Services, STARS, Queensland Health
10:45
Networking Break & Morning Tea
11:20
INNOVATION SHOWCASE
11:40
CASE STUDY | ISLHD’s Multidisciplinary Acute Care at Home
Dr Jacqui Irvine, Acting Director Hospital@Home, Senior Emergency Specialist, Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD
Jane Carratt, HITH Nurse Unit Manager, Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD
12:10
From Pathways to Patient-Centered Care: RBWH’s HITH Showcase
- HITH service maturation from pathways to patient-centered care and how that journey looks
- Using real patient stories, showcase the power of fully integrated multidisciplinary teams
- Explore how services develop adaptive capacity to handle unexpected events in increasingly complex home-based care
Michael Tresillian, HITH/General Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Metro North Health
Sam Tapp, HITH Clinical Nurse Consultant, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Metro North Health
12:40
Networking Lunch
13:40
PANEL | Operational Excellence: HITH Coordination and Management Across Districts and States
- Patient selection, referral and admission protocols
- District-wide coordination strategies and local service adaptation
- Workforce innovation and community nurse integration model
- Safety and quality of patient care delivery
Dana West, HITH Coordinator- CNC, Liverpool Hospital
Rachelle Foxton, Allied Health Manager, Hospital in The Home & Virtual Care Service, Northern Sydney Local Health District
Shannon Wallis, Acting Nursing Director in the Preventative Health Division, West Moreton Hospital and Health Service
Rajni Nair, Clinical Nurse Consultant- Safety and Quality, Virtual Emergency Care Services, STARS, Queensland Health
Moderator: Matthias Langer, HITH Nurse Manager, Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD)
14:30
Implementing GEM-HITH and GEMR-HITH: A Queensland Statewide Initiative
- Improving health outcomes and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations for older patients
Dr Fiona Baker, Medical Clinical Lead- Queensland GEMHITH / GEMRHITH, Clinical Director of Integrated Care, Emergency Staff Specialist, Fraser Coast
15:00
Transforming Care Delivery: Health Programs, Partnerships, and Payment Innovation
- GMHBA’s health programs, including cardiac rehabilitation, care coordination, and HITH services while maintaining banking industry compliance and hospital-standard accreditation
- Strategic partnerships with hospitals and HITH providers, addressing referral barriers and conflicts of interest in the current healthcare system
- Cost reduction strategies and funding innovations to improve HITH access and reduce customer premiums through revised payment models
Angela Smarrelli, Clinical & Programs Manager, GMHBA
15:30
Networking Break & Afternoon Tea
16:00
Building the Evidence Base in Australia for HITH Models of Care in Pregnancy Complications
Hospital in the Home (HiTH) models for pregnancy complications are emerging in Australia as a strategy to reduce healthcare burden and improve patient experiences. While established in European systems for a decade, Australia is implementing these models, with the Royal Hospital for Women’s Virtual Maternity Ward representing Sydney’s first such initiative. Evidence is building rapidly in the Australian context, though further research is needed to determine if virtual maternity care can meet Australia’s diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic needs.
A/Prof Deborah Fox, Associate Professor in Midwifery, University of Technology Sydney
16:30
CLOSING PANEL | Planning and Building future HITH Services
- Strategic planning and funding approaches for sustainable HITH development
- Matching community needs with available resources and workforce capabilities
- Building service depth vs. expansion: maximizing impact with existing resources while maintaining quality outcomes
- Overcoming geographical and logistical challenges in HITH service delivery
- Developing and sustaining effective multidisciplinary teams for future service models
Dr Robert Marshall, Chief Strategy Officer, St Vincent’s Health Australia
Dr Fiona Baker, Medical Clinical Lead- Queensland GEMHITH / GEMRHITH, Clinical Director of Integrated Care, Emergency Staff Specialist, Fraser Coast
Dux Balendran, Operation Director- Care in the Home and Community, Monash Health
Moderator: Dr Shaun Hosein, Clinical Director – Virtual and Integrated Care, Metro South Hospital and Health Service
17:15
Closing Remarks from the Chair
17:20
Day 1 Concludes
08:30
Registration & Morning Coffee
08:50
DAY TWO OPENING
08:55
Opening remarks from the Chair
Dr Shaun Hosein, Clinical Director – Virtual and Integrated Care, Metro South Hospital and Health Service
09:15
INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE | Clinical Governance for AI in Mental Health Crisis Response: What we’re learning
Glynis Sandland, Chief Executive Officer, Whakarongorau Aotearoa / New Zealand Telehealth Services
09:45
EXECUTIVE PANEL | The Future of Care: Hospital in the Home and Telehealth
This panel will explore the evolving landscape of healthcare delivery, focusing on Hospital in the Home (HITH) and Telehealth as complementary models to traditional in-person care. As healthcare systems strive to meet the growing demand for accessible, efficient, and patient-centered care, the convergence of these approaches offers a transformative opportunity to redefine how and where care is delivered. The discussion will address key questions such as:
- How can HITH and telehealth work together to create a seamless continuum of care?
- What are the technological, operational, and regulatory challenges in integrating these models?
- How can these innovations improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance accessibility for diverse populations?
10:30
CASE STUDY | Ready, Set, Go – Rapid Health Service Responses for Queenslanders
- On average, the 13 HEALTH number receives over 34,000 calls per month. Approximately 28% of these calls are resolved directly by Customer Service Advisors, while the remaining calls are referred via phone or email to Queensland Health or other government services.
- The Health Contact Centre (HCC) frequently supports multi-channel responses during Health Alerts and Health Incidents, playing a critical role in timely communication and community support.
- To maintain readiness for rapid response, the HCC sustains an agile technical infrastructure.
- This presentation will share lessons learnt and showcase real-world implementations of the HCC’s rapid response capabilities, highlighting the impact and effectiveness of this approach in managing health incidents and events.
Shelley Peardon-Freeman, Allied Health Director, Health Contact Centre, Queensland Health
11:00
INNOVATION SHOWCASE | Beyond hospital walls – reducing admissions and delivering care at home
Healthcare organisations are rethinking how and where care is delivered. This session explores how technology-enabled models, supported by platforms like CareMonitor, are reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and enabling safe, effective care at home when hospital-level support is needed. We’ll share practical insights from diverse implementations and what’s driving better outcomes for patients and providers.
- Understand the shift from keeping patients out of hospital to safely delivering hospital-level care at home, and the role technology plays in making this possible.
- Explore how digital care models are being implemented, and the role technology plays in supporting prevention, chronic disease management, and acute care at home.
- Learn what’s driving better outcomes across these models, including improvements in patient experience, operational efficiency, and scalability.
Deepak Biswal, Chief Executive Officer, Care Monitor
11:30
Networking Break & Morning Tea
12:00
INNOVATION SHOWCASE |
12:20
PANEL | Advancing policy and funding
This panel will delve into the critical challenges and opportunities in shaping policy and funding frameworks to support the growth of virtual and hybrid care systems. As telehealth and Hospital in the Home (HITH) programs become integral to healthcare delivery, addressing gaps in funding and reimbursement is essential to ensure sustainability, equity, and scalability. The discussion will focus on:
- Navigating the complexities of healthcare policy to support innovative care models.
- Identifying solutions to reimbursement challenges for telehealth and HITH services.
- Exploring funding strategies to drive adoption and integration of virtual and hybrid care.
Dr Rachel David, Chief Executive Officer, Private Healthcare Australia
Ryan Hutton, Manager – Provider Networks, nib
13:00
Telehealth, virtual care and our collective humanity: Can the Humanities help us?
- Increased provision of remote services, often to remote and/or socially isolated individuals
- Care theory tells us that caring for, about and with each other is a fundamental human function
- How do we care for, with and about each other in the context of virtual care?
Dr Samantha Clune, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Institute for Primary Care & Ageing (AIPCA), La Trobe University
Prof Raelene Wilding, Professor of Sociology, La Trobe University
13:30
Networking Lunch
14:30
BREAKOUT – INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLES
Join us for an engaging roundtable (RT) discussion featuring 2 to 3 esteemed featured speakers and a moderator. The discussions are meant to be very organic, interactive and aims to foster exchange of ideas, highlight best practices. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in the conversation, ask questions, and contribute their perspectives.
Industry RT1
Taxonomy of Virtual Care & HITH:
Do we need systematic classification of healthcare delivery models between virtual care and HITH?
Kylie Houlihan, Director Digital Healthcare and Innovation, Queensland Ambulance Service
Industry RT2
Workforce Development: Addressing workforce shortage
What key strategies can be implemented to address the shortage of healthcare professionals while effectively integrating virtual care into existing workflows?
Dr Neel Gobin, Regional Director of Medical Services, Hunter New England Local Health District (NSW)
Industry RT3
Multidisciplinary Collaboration: How or what can we do better?
How can multidisciplinary collaboration be leveraged to enhance the integration and effectiveness of HITH and telehealth services?
Julia Schmidtke, Nursing Director- patient transfer and integrated care, Ambulance Tasmania
15:10
Someone from Industry RT sessions share the top 3-5 key takeaways that was discussed in their RT
15:25
Closing Remarks from the Chair
15:30
Closing of the Conference & Afternoon Tea
Venue
Swissôtel Sydney
68 Market St
Sydney NSW 2000
+61 (02) 9238 8888
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION RATE
Secure your accommodation at the Swissotel Sydney with a 12% discount* off the best available flexible room only rate at the time of booking.
To book this rate, please click here and follow the below instructions.
To load/see the rates available please enter the codes as per below:
- Click on the Book Now link above and scroll to ‘Our accommodation’
- Enter your booking dates
- Click on the drop down for “Special rates”
- Enter the code SCP2108566 in “Business client with contract”
- Enter the code IN435AU828 in “Access code”
- Click on “See rates”
* Rooms and rates are subject to availability at the time of booking, we suggest booking early to avoid disappointment.
Alternatively, please contact the hotel reservations team directly on 02 9238 8888 between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday or email [email protected]
Event Code of Conduct
We want everyone who comes to our events to have a great experience. This code explains our expectations and rules, which includes general good practice behaviour, and how to report anything witnessed or experienced that goes against them. Read our Event Code of Conduct here.
ConnectMe + Streamly
ConnectMe • Networking enhanced
All of our events utilise a bespoke dynamic smartphone app, ConnectMe – which guarantees attendees a premium event experience. Logins are sent prior to the conference commencement allowing you to check who’s attending, schedule in meetings and catch ups, participate in live Q+A and interactive polls, and much more. ConnectMe ensures you never miss a beat prior, during and post event.
Streamly • On-Demand video vault
Streamly is a new video platform from Informa Connect – hosting hours of session recordings from our events and more. Select the Streamly add-on at the checkout to receive an annual subscription to exclusive On-Demand session recordings from all of our related healthcare events*. Login information will be sent post event.
* Note: In a minority of cases, speakers may request their sessions to be excluded from Streamly access.