08:15

Registration & Morning Coffee

08:50

DAY ONE OPENING

08:55

Opening remarks from the Chair

Associate Professor Tam C. Nguyen, Deputy Director Research, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne

09:00

OPENING KEYNOTE | Striking a balance between easy access and quality care

Anna McFadgen, Chief Executive Officer, St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney
Dean Jones, National Director, St Vincent’s at Home & St Vincent’s Virtual

09:30

KEYNOTE | Single Digital Patient Record as enabler for care provision

Dr Teresa Anderson AM, Chief Executive, Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority

10:00

Virtual Psychologist Pilot Program

Richard Nankervis, Chief Executive Officer, Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network

10:30

Regulating in the digital health age: challenges and opportunities

• Current guidance about virtual care – an overview of how professional obligations in codes of conduct, and guidelines for the health professions apply when delivering safe and effective virtual care services
• The regulatory landscape for virtual care – including the roles of different regulators, how regulation is responding to evolving models of care, and emerging regulatory issues such as the use of AI in healthcare
• Practical insights about where professional conduct sometimes fall short in virtual care, and what we can do to support safe professional practice.

Rachel Griffiths, Manager Strategic Policy, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
Tom Hall, National Manager of Notifications, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

11:00

Networking Break & Morning Tea

11:30

Towards Uniform Safety and Quality Standards for Telehealth

Australia still does not have uniform, government-endorsed accreditation standards for online telehealth clinics. This unfortunately sets them apart from hospitals, day clinics and GP clinics in Australia, and sets Australia apart from comparable jurisdictions such as the UK. This gap exists despite telehealth as a model of care representing an increasingly high proportion of GP and nurse practitioner consultations in the country. While we await a resolution of this gap from the government, Eucalyptus has partnered with experts to propose its own industry standards.

Dr Matt Vickers, Clinical Director, Eucalyptus

11:55

CASE STUDY | Digital Emergency Healthcare for Remote Communities

Launch of a 24/7 unstaffed facility with capability to support remote patients access to diagnosis, advice, and treatment. Remotely supported by RFDS staff and local community medical Chest custodians.

Michelle Dobie, Principal Advisor – Digital Health Systems and Projects, Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT

12:25

CASE STUDY | Statewide Virtual Emergency Service in SA

Aspects of the innovative work we have been doing in supporting regional sites, aged care, disability residential care, community nursing and our consumer front door via HealthDirect.

Dr Melanie Smith, GP Consultant, Co-Clinical Lead, SA Virtual Care Service, SA Health
Rebecca Perry, Nursing Director – Operations, South Australian Virtual Care Service

12:55

SESSION SPOTLIGHT | Improving access to healthcare with Updoc

• Updoc’s technology platform connects patients across Australia to doctors across Australia.
• With access limitations becoming more prevalent, more people are looking for digital health solutions like Updoc for primary care.
• Using technology to improve access, particularly for regional and remote Australians, is becoming increasingly more important – and doing so with robust clinical governance is critical to improving access.

Dr Jamie Phillips, Chief Medical Officer, Updoc

13:20

Networking Lunch

14:20

Empowering consumers – Is virtual care right for me and my family?

• A Virtual Care Consumer Suitability Toolkit has been codesigned to provide consumers with the information and tools they need when deciding if virtual care is right for them.
• Information is consumer friendly
• Encourages conversations between health care providers and consumers, their family and carers.

Donna Parkes, Stream Lead, Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
Brian Long, Health Consumer Advocate & Advisor, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

14:50

PANEL | Advancing Telehealth: Expanding the Boundaries of Virtual Care Delivery

• What emerging technologies are enhancing telehealth models showing proven value?
• What can current technology platforms do, and what are their limitations?
• Future outlook?

Brenton Jones, Senior Digital Health Officer, Western NSW Primary Health Network
Robert Read, Chief Executive Officer, Amplar Health
Travis Hodgson, Chief Operating Officer, Healthdirect Australia
Prof Clair Sullivan, Director, Queensland Digital Health Centre
Moderator: Donna Parkes, Stream Lead, Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

15:30

Networking Break & Afternoon Tea

The below sessions will host both Telehealth & HITH audience

16:00

PANEL | Overcoming barriers to virtual care pathways to improve health outcomes

• How can we avoid hospitalisation? Can we incentivise hospitals not to keep inpatients?
• Key considerations when designing virtual pathways that cater to diverse patient populations
• How can data from virtual pathways be leveraged to enhance clinical decision-making and patient outcomes?
• Emerging trends and future? Regulatory and policy considerations?

Ryan Hutton, Manager – Provider Networks, nib
Niranjan Bidargaddi, Professor of Digital Health, Flinders University
Dr Owen Hutchings, Clinical Director, RPA Virtual Hospital
Ben Okonjo, Digital Health Manager, Adelaide Primary Health Network
Moderator: Donna Parkes, Stream Lead, Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

17:20

Closing Remarks from the Telehealth Chair

17:25

End of Day 1 & Networking Drinks