Overview
Initiative type
Service Improvement
Status
Deliver
Published
June 2025
CEQ Showcase 2025 - The Mackay Telecare Inpatient Support Service
Summary
This service is specifically designed to improve inpatient care and optimise bed flow by providing virtual sub-specialist support through a unique public-private partnership arrangement.
Key dates
1 May 2023 - 1 December 2024
Implementation sites
Mackay Base Hospital
Partnerships
The Mackay Telecare Inpatient Support Service
Aim
The goal is to enhance specialist access, improve inpatient care, provide clinician education, and increase hospital operational efficiency. The outcome is an enhanced patient flow, which helps to reduce the strain on bed capacity.
Outcomes
- Delivered 511 Virtual Inpatient Consultations
- Significant enhancements in:
- -diagnostic accuracy
- optimised treatment planning
- -reduced length of stay for complex inpatient cases.
- Improved local clinician competencies and positive impacts on overall bed management.
- Substantial benefits in patient care, clinician education, and hospital resource utilisation.
Background
Regional hospitals frequently experience subspecialist shortages, impacting patient outcomes, timely discharge, and bed flow management. To address this, Mackay Hospital and Health Service (MHHS) partnered with Telecare Australia to implement the Mackay Telecare Inpatient Support Service, a virtual consultation model connecting MHHS General Medicine consultant-led teams with a range of Telecare subspecialists. This service aims to enhance inpatient care, clinician education, and hospital operational efficiency.
Methods
The HHS utilised an established partnership with Telecare Australia for outpatient telehealth services, in order to leverage the expertise of the same specialists in the inpatient setting. In many instances, the patients are well known to the Consultant.
The implemented model provides real-time virtual consultations with subspecialists across multiple disciplines, including dermatology, rheumatology, hepatology, inflammatory bowel disease, neurology and geriatrics.
MHHS consultants identify suitable complex inpatients, facilitating structured case referrals to ensure seamless integration into ongoing care plans. Core components include upskilling local clinicians through direct collaboration and optimising patient discharge planning to improve hospital bed availability.
A dedicated Program Officer is responsible for coordinating inpatient telehealth service events. The Program Officer attends Medical Division morning handover meetings and has become integral to care and discharge planning on the wards. Referrals are responded to promptly with most virtual consultations occurring within six hours or next business day of the request.
Our Telecare Specialists are fully credentialed with Mackay and have complete access to clinical systems, including the ieMR. This allows them to make real-time clinical notes, orders, and treatment plans, just like our on-site clinical teams.
Discussion
The Mackay Telecare Inpatient Support Service demonstrates considerable promise as a scalable solution to subspecialist shortages in regional hospitals.
We have taken a unique approach to a longstanding problem by turning toward the private market and no longer relying solely on the public sector Specialist resource pool or short-term locum arrangements. Embracing the opportunities presented by virtual care has allowed us to enhance our inpatient service. Telehealth, with its inherent flexibility, is particularly well-suited for this innovative approach.
Key lessons learnt thus far include:
- Effective integration into existing hospital workflows requires structured and clear referral processes.
- Regular virtual collaboration significantly boosts local clinician expertise and confidence.
- Flexibility and responsiveness in virtual consultations are critical to clinician acceptance and operational success.
Key contact
Cathie La Riviere; Belinda Quakawoot
Manager, Virtual Health
Mackay Hospital and Health Service