2021 State of Telehealth Summit

Webinar Recordings

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Session 1: Telehealth Expert Discussion Panel

Presenters:

  • Prof Anthony Smith, Director of The Centre for Online Health
  • A/Prof Liam Caffery, Director of Telehealth Technology, The Centre for Online Health
  • Dr Annie Banbury, Senior Telehealth Consultant, The Centre of Online Health
  • Dr Helen Haydon, Research Fellow, The Centre of Online Health

The Telehealth Expert Discussion panel was led by Professor Anthony Smith, (Professor of Telehealth, COH Director, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare) and three experts from his COH telehealth consultant team. Informal panel presentations and discussions will reflect over four decades of accumulated telehealth experience. All panelists not only share extensive telehealth experience, but also clinical qualifications in nursing, psychology and radiography. The interactive panel presentation will cover a range of topics such as:

  • Myths associated with telehealth
  • Factors associated with telehealth uptake/ sustainability
  •  The importance of training
  • The importance of evaluation
  •  Group video consultations

Session 2: Telehealth implementation: streamlining workflows through effective telehealth implementation

Presenters:

  • Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, CEO & Co-Founder, Coviu
  • Peter Simpson-Young, Telehealth Evangelist, Coviu
  • Dr Annie Banbury, Telehealth Implementation Lead, Coviu
Video calling is simple, but delivering health care is complex. Service delivery requires various stakeholders (clinicians, administrators, clients, etc.) to complete multiple processes (intake, assessments, check-out, etc.) in different contexts (private practice, group practices, clinics, etc). These complex processes required to deliver care can be unique to each practice and are commonly referred to as “Clinical Workflows”. Whilst telehealth has the ability to enhance processes and create efficiencies, integrating telehealth into your clinical workflows can be challenging. This session will explain how telehealth can fit most effectively into common Clinical Workflows to ensure practitioners can focus on delivering the best care.

  • By the end of this presentation, attendees will:
  • Understand how to implement telehealth effectively into common Clinical Workflows.
  • Learn how to streamline Telehealth Workflows by integrating claiming, payments, assessments, and tasks into telehealth consultations.
  • Discover the latest tools to enhance telehealth consultations
  • Learn change management techniques to most effectively implement telehealth within any organisation.

Session 3: Telehealth Natives: Insights from Australia’s telehealth pioneers

Presenters:

  • Dr Aaron Frost, Director, Benchmark Psychology & Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Griffith University
  • Kathy Matheson, Founder/Director/Principal Psychologist, Karepsych
COVID-19 has sparked a new era of telehealth and driven the adoption of telehealth technologies Australia-wide. Yet some practitioners have heavily on telehealth prior to COVID-19 and have built innovative business models which were enabled by telehealth. In this facilitated discussion, we will hear the journey of Australia's pioneering telehealth practitioners and hear insights they’ve learnt from delivering thousands of consultations through telehealth.

Session 4: Claiming insurance benefits for telehealth sessions

Presenter:

  • Peter Williams, CTO & Co-founder, Medipass
By the end of this session you’ll understand which insurers pay for telehealth consultations, claiming limits, methods to lodge claims and how rules differ for telehealth vs in-person services.

Session 5: Growing your impact with digital technologies

Presenters:

  • Dr Paul Saunders, Psychologist & Director, LN Consulting
  • Klaus Bartosch, Managing Director & Co-Founder, MyHealth1st
Online booking platforms are a popular way for clients to find health care providers, and telehealth ensures they've never been as accessible. The combination of these technologies make it simpler to gain more clients and grow your business. This session will focus on how to leverage these technologies to create a scalable business that maximises your impact on client's lives.

Session 6: Telehealth: Delivering Quality Mental Health Support

Presenter:

  • A/Prof Neil Thomas, Director, National eTherapy Centre, Swinburne University of Technology
Associate Professor Neil Thomas from the National eTherapy Centre at Swinburne University will present a workshop exploring the practical steps involved in supporting people’s mental health via virtual platforms.

Learning outcomes:

  • Understanding the evidence base for telehealth
  • Confidence setting up a digital work space
  • Increased rapport building skills and adapting your communication style to video
  • Confidence managing risk and maintaining boundaries

Session 7: Telepractice: A real choice for quality therapy services for children

Presenter:

  • Dr Kim Bulkeley, Senior Lecturer, Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney

This presentation is based on our research with families in remote areas of Australia with children with disability. I provide an overview of the factors linked with telepractice as a viable service delivery modality and the findings of a study that identified factors associated with quality telepractice with children.


At the end of this presentation participants will:

  • Describe the context that promotes telepractice models
  • Understand parent/carer perspectives on telepractice
  • Identify components of quality telepractice
  • Recognise alignment of telepractice with family centred practice
  • Locate resources to support telepractice skill development

Session 8: How we can deliver better mental health care (and not burn out in the process)

Presenters:

  • Dr Jennifer Connolly, Clinical Psychologist & Senior Research Officer, eMHPrac, Queensland University of Technology
  • Dr Ruth Crowther, Senior Research Fellow and Provisional Psychologist, eMHPrac, Queensland University of Technology
  • Dr Tania McMahon, Clinical Psychologist and Senior Research Officer, eMHPrac, Queensland University of Technology

For over a decade the Australian government has funded the development of numerous free/low-cost, evidence-based digital mental health (dMH) tools and services. Telehealth platforms now give us a unique opportunity to integrate these tools into care, helping practitioners more seamlessly apply a stepped care model, helping make their service delivery easier, and increasing the impact of their own treatments.

This 45-minute presentation will briefly review the history of dMH tools and services, the evidence of their efficacy and the benefits they can provide, and the different ways they can be integrated into telehealth consultations. Some case examples will be discussed to provide concrete demonstrations and practical advice about how to integrate these tools into practice.

By the end of the presentation, attendees will:

  • Understand the role of dMH in the Australian healthcare system
  • Understand the benefits of dMH and the evidence behind it
  • Discover the range of dMH tools available and where to find free/low-cost, evidence-based tools
  • Learn the different ways that dMH can be integrated into telehealth
  • Learn practical tips for using dMH within telehealth consultations through demonstration with case studies.

Session 9: Telehealth Success Stories: Supporting our clients no matter the circumstances

Presenters:

  • Dr Kristina Haebich, Neuropsychologist, Mental Health, Royal Children’s Hospital
  • Dr Melissa Stephens, Consultant Psychologist, Pearson Clinical,
  • Dr Wendy Kelso, Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist, Royal Melbourne Hospital

You need flexible choices to continue to assess your clients when in-person sessions are not practical or feasible. Join us to hear from Dr Kristina Haebich and Dr Wendy Kelso, on their success stories and lessons learned through their telehealth journey. This session will be moderated by Dr Melissa Stephens.

Session 10: Grappling with the human factors in telehealth: Strategies to enhance its ‘human-ness’ and the interpersonal connection

Presenter:

  • Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly, Senior Research Fellow, School of Women’s and Children’s Health, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Clinical Psychologist, Sydney Youth Cancer Service, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick.

 

Drawing from Dr Sansom-Daly’s work in cancer populations, this talk will explore what gaps in knowledge still remain in understanding how we can best utilise telehealth in clinical practice in such a way that the interpersonal connection is preserved. Practical strategies to enhance therapeutic alliance and healthcare engagement for both the healthcare professional facilitating the telehealth session, and the patient/client receiving it, will be discussed. Ethical considerations for the safe management of psychology clients will be explored, as will the needs of special groups. This talk will also explore human factors that pose challenges to the implementation of videoconferencing-based services in healthcare beyond COVID-19.

Outcomes:

  • An understanding of the evidence base for telehealth in a range of clinical psychology settings
  • An understanding of the challenges and opportunities telehealth poses to the therapeutic alliance or interpersonal connection in clinical health services
  • Practical strategies for enhancing both healthcare professional and client/patient comfort and sense of engagement during telehealth sessions