The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital’s (RBWH) Allied Health TeleBurns Service was implemented as an alternative model of care for individuals with burn injuries to receive specialist care either closer to home or their nearest healthcare facility.
Allied Health TeleBurns Service
Initiative Type
Model of Care
Status
Close
Added
Last updated
Summary
Key dates
Apr 2019
Dec 2020
Implementation sites
RBWH is the main site and 40 other sites across 15 HHSs
Partnerships
Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation
Aim
To evaluate the implementation of the RBWH Allied Health TeleBurns Service as an alternative method of service delivery to prevent patients having to travel to access equivalent in-person services.
Benefits
Benefits include improved patient outcomes, upskilling opportunities for regional clinicians, and cost savings for patients and the health service.
Patient benefits:
- psychosocial benefits: less time away from family and social supports
- financial benefits: avoided time away from work; travel costs (even with Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme reimbursement, additional out of pocket costs are incurred e.g., airport transfers / parking costs / meals and incidentals)
- continuity of care: being linked in with local clinicians to be able to access more timely care closer to home
- equity of access for patients to specialist services irrespective of geographical location
- increased choice for patients in how they receive their follow up care.
Clinician benefits:
- upskilling opportunities for regional clinicians in the management of patients post burn injury
- improved communication and partnerships between Queensland Health clinicians working in metropolitan and regional areas.
Health Service Benefits:
- reduced Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS) expenditure.
- improved clinician capacity rurally - increasing sustainability of services throughout Queensland.
- improved retention of clinicians in regional areas – through opportunities for training and exposure to specialized clinical services
- improved efficiency of services - making it easier for patients to receive their post burn clinical services; less likelihood of patients not completing their recommended post burn follow up care, thereby reducing the likelihood of future healthcare utilisation due to complications such as timely post burn occupational therapy and physiotherapy reducing the likelihood of developing post burn contractures that require surgical reconstruction
- leveraging digital technology advances in health care
- results from this service implementation may support the implementation of telehealth models of care for other clinical services.
Background
The long distances that burns patients have to travel to receive timely care has been a challenge to Queensland Health.