Queensland Virtual Hospital offers emergency care and more information
Queensland Virtual Hospital expands into emergency care
The Queensland State Government has set aside A$27 million ($18 million) to expand the services of the Queensland Virtual Hospital to include emergency care.
According to a press release, the new virtual emergency room will focus on non-life-threatening, urgent conditions, including acute respiratory illness, allergic reactions, rashes, bites, pain, infections, burns, children with fever, gastroenteritis and dizziness.
Meanwhile, there is an adjacent service, the Queensland Telestroke Service to be integrated into Queensland Virtual Hospital later this year.
MED connects EMR via cloud
The My Emergency Doctor telemedicine service can now provide system interoperability, allowing hospitals to conduct virtual consultation rounds.
Recently, MED, which connects experienced emergency physicians with hospitals virtually 24/7,implemented InterSystems’ cloud-based managed integration engine to support an undisclosed large suburban hospital’s virtual overnight supervision service, improving transfer of care and length of stay.
According to a press release, the hospital in question preferred to have its systems interoperate with MEDâs EMR system via its existing HL7 messaging standard. Until recently, MED had been doing EMR integrations using a secure file-sharing service. âWith HL7 interoperability, we can get more information faster and create a better clinical workflow. If something happens, we get the data immediately and a nurse doesnât have to review it,â said Ben Rhodes, MEDâs chief technology officer. shared.
InterSystemsâ HealthShare Health Connect Cloud is being further expanded to provide interoperability with MEDâs other telemedicine services, with ongoing support from InterSystemsâ partner Fluffy Spider Technologies.
NSW to trial bodycams in hospitals
The state government of New South Wales is conducting a 12-month trial of bodycams in a number of public hospitals.
According to a press release, the trial aims to evaluate the technology’s effectiveness in deterring and de-escalating violent incidents in hospitals. It noted that cases of aggressive attacks on public hospital staff have increased in recent years.
The trial will be rolled out across nine public hospitals, including Westmead and Nepean Hospitals. Up to 300 body cameras will be deployed to hospital security staff. The equipment will only be used to record scenes deemed to present a risk of harm to staff, patients or others.
The use of bodycams is one of the many recommendations made in the Review of Hospital Security by former NSW Police Minister Peter Anderson to improve safety and security in hospitals.