Digital health in Australia - statistics & facts
Digital health and telehealth play a critical role in connecting Australia’s health workers with patients around the country, particularly in remote communities with limited access to health services and personnel. However, telehealth is also utilized almost as much in population dense metropolitan areas and it’s popularity has been boosted somewhat by social distancing practices during the coronavirus pandemic. While telehealth remains an important part of the public health system, new digital technologies and the expansion of the National Broadband Network (NBN) have given rise to innovative digital health platforms with diverse applications. Today, digital health comes in the form of public health websites, social media engagement, and apps that are more widely accessible through platforms such as MyGov and the Healthdirect website.
Another notable digital health service accessible through a MyGov is the My Health Record. The My Health Record has been a major development in the digitization of health records in Australia, however not without resistance. The online health record can be accessed and updated by treating healthcare professionals, pharmacies, hospitals, and the record holder themselves but concerns about privacy and its introduction as an opt-in service saw a slow initial adoption rate. After January 2019, the My Health Record was reintroduced as an opt-out digital record, meaning that Australians would need to actively cancel their account if they did not wish to have one. As expected, the number of records increased exponentially, and by January 2021 most My Health Records were being used actively, with more than 20 million accounts with uploaded data and growing.
It was not only digital health services that saw an increase in usage as a result of the coronavirus, the share of health consultations taking place over the phone rose to more than 30 percent in April 2020 and remained high in the following months. Videoconferencing also increased in the initial stages of the pandemic. However, it remained significantly less popular than face-to-face and over-the-phone communication and after the initial increase, video conferencing dropped back down to less than one percent of transactions.
Overall, Australia’s ongoing investment in e-government and digital health, coupled with the events of the coronavirus pandemic is set to drive further use and innovation in the digital health industry. This is likely to attract further investment beyond public health funding, leaving the door open for the private sector as well.
How are digital health services accessed?
Australia’s rapid digital health expansion is closely aligned with the country’s e-government development led by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA). Among other projects, the DTA is responsible for the development of the MyGov platform, which links government services to a single account that allows them to make digital transactions. The third most commonly linked service is Medicare, which is the national public healthcare insurance service.Another notable digital health service accessible through a MyGov is the My Health Record. The My Health Record has been a major development in the digitization of health records in Australia, however not without resistance. The online health record can be accessed and updated by treating healthcare professionals, pharmacies, hospitals, and the record holder themselves but concerns about privacy and its introduction as an opt-in service saw a slow initial adoption rate. After January 2019, the My Health Record was reintroduced as an opt-out digital record, meaning that Australians would need to actively cancel their account if they did not wish to have one. As expected, the number of records increased exponentially, and by January 2021 most My Health Records were being used actively, with more than 20 million accounts with uploaded data and growing.
Coronavirus driving digital health usage
Public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures have undoubtedly accelerated the use of digital health services. The Australian government has also taken advantage of digital platforms to mitigate the spread of the virus. The COVIDSafe app was developed as a contact tracing system and saw five million downloads within the first month of being available. Furthermore, the Healthdirect website, phone line, and app, which offers medical advice and an online symptom checker saw an influx of app downloads during the initial coronavirus lockdowns in March 2020.It was not only digital health services that saw an increase in usage as a result of the coronavirus, the share of health consultations taking place over the phone rose to more than 30 percent in April 2020 and remained high in the following months. Videoconferencing also increased in the initial stages of the pandemic. However, it remained significantly less popular than face-to-face and over-the-phone communication and after the initial increase, video conferencing dropped back down to less than one percent of transactions.
Overall, Australia’s ongoing investment in e-government and digital health, coupled with the events of the coronavirus pandemic is set to drive further use and innovation in the digital health industry. This is likely to attract further investment beyond public health funding, leaving the door open for the private sector as well.
