Telehealth supports cyclone-affected patients

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

People left without access to a GP due to Cyclone Gabrielle could have telehealth consultations and get prescriptions using the internal doctor service at Whakarongorau Aotearoa.

Doctors at Whakarongorau – NZ Telehealth Services also provide care for people who are not registered with a GP or are having difficulty seeing their doctor, and support ambulance crews to help keep patients safely at home.

Since October 2022, Whakarongorau doctors have seen 1800 patients and had 600 contacts with ambulance frontline staff.

In January and February 2023, a number of General Practices had to shut suddenly due to the Auckland flooding and then Cyclone Gabrielle, leaving people without direct access to primary care.

Whakarongorau, provided telehealth consultations and prescribed medications, as well as connected patients to pharmacies that were open.

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Chief clinical officer Ruth Large says the organisation set up an internal doctor service in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was initially a clinical advice line, taking calls from GPs, pharmacists, midwives and nurses.

The service was later expanded to support Covid-19 patients in the community and now has 24 doctors working across the motu.

“The service has developed over time and we were able to quickly respond to the national emergency,” Large says.

“Being able to access patient information and support people to get their medications was really important in the initial phase.”

The Health Line team - made up of nurses and paramedics - triage patients and if they meet certain criteria, they are connected to the doctor service, which operates 24/7.

The clinical team can access patient notes for people calling from the South Island via the HealthOne electronic shared care record, and for those in the Northern region, using TestSafe.

The telehealth technology in use also has image upload functionality, which means patients can upload images of medication or injuries or share videos such their child’s breathing.

“We are there to support the health system, so wherever we can, we navigate people back to their GP,” Large says.

Another useful tool has been ‘Healthline online’, where people can register online and enter their demographic details. This means their information is already available when they call, and the conversation flows more smoothly, Large explains.

People can also request a call-back via the online service: since its soft launch in August last year, 6000 people have opted to use this.

Large says after the flooding and cyclone, Healthline calls rapidly increased in volume and the organisation had staff who were affected themselves.

“Part of our response was working to ensure our staff were safe, and had access to power and internet if they were working from home,” she says.


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