Industry View: Amazing switch to virtual healthcare during Covid-19

eHealthNews.nz: Covid-19

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Industry View: Amazing switch to virtual healthcare during Covid-19

Tuesday, 31 March 2020

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Picture: NZHIT CEO Scott Arrol

Regular column by Scott Arrol, NZHIT CEO

Scott Arrol reflects on the incredible effort made by the health sector to rapidly switch to virtual consultations due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

Into the second week of coronavirus lockdown, New Zealand’s primary care doctors, nurses and staff are putting in an amazing effort to switch to phone and online health consultations in a very short timeframe.

GP clinics across the country have moved quickly to ensure continuity of care by providing the majority of their consultations online or over the phone meaning that patients don’t have to physically go into the clinic unless they absolutely have to.

This isn’t limited to GPs as there is also an equally swift change happening at pharmacy, allied health, midwifery and most other parts of the health sector.

These are extraordinary times and it requires special measures to make sure we grab this opportunity during the lockdown to help control this virus. The tireless work by everyone involved both at the frontline and behind the scenes to make virtual healthcare happen is incredible.
This is clearly an absolute necessity for our healthcare system and also means an adjustment is needed from the public so they know what to expect when doing an online consultation with their doctor or nurse.

Being prepared ahead of the consultation will help and there are a number of online resources available to the public so they can better understand what to expect. NZ Telehealth and Health Navigator are excellent publicly available sites to learn more.

Most people are already used to connecting with friends and family by phone, text, social media, email and video apps plus the GP’s patient management systems provide options for them to connect safely and securely in a virtual way with their patients.

I have been so impressed by the way that everyone in the sector has combined their efforts, resources and expertise to meet the pandemic head-on. Without hesitation both the private and public sectors have looked at ways to fast-track a number of activities that are either immediately making a difference or will shortly flow into the system.

There is no doubt that the adjustments being made out of necessity will bring about ongoing changes particularly where the general public understand how these can benefit their healthcare needs.

This doesn’t mean that patients won’t be able to be physically examined by their doctor. When doing a virtual consultation the GP will make the call on whether the patient should come into the clinic or not.

The clinicians involved will always put their patients health first and we should view this move to virtual healthcare as just another way to engage with the health system, not only during the pandemic, but into the future as well.

However, I believe we are now seeing the move towards full enablement of technology to support the delivery of health and disability services. This is a subtle shift from technology being seen as an “enabler of healthcare” to it being a key factor that becomes embedded in the wider use of the term “healthcare”.

That time will come but in the meantime the immediate danger is certainly being meet with hard working, brave and selfless people at all levels of the sector.