Virtually Equipped Therapy Options (VETO) – Reducing environmental impact through improved access to telehealth.
Sue-Ellen Hogg1, Katie Tsaccounis11Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, NSW, Australia
Abstract
Background: NSW Health has committed to an environmentally sustainable footprint. Reducing health related road travel is a key initiative for achieving this. Health related road travel was significantly reduced during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ISLHD Speech Pathology was well positioned to rapidly adopt telehealth as the primary service delivery mode at the onset of the pandemic and saw an 8 percent growth in services delivered across 2020 and 2021 despite restrictions. The benefits of telehealth for consumers in regional, rural and remote regions, where there can be significant distances to care, encompass individual, organisational and environmental impacts. However, local data analysis suggests that there are barriers to equitable access, with geographical, economic and digital literacy factors, all impacting a person’s ability to access and benefit from therapy programs delivered virtually.
Aim: To investigate the feasibility of provision of virtually equipped devices to facilitate improved access to intensive therapy programs for consumers in a regional-rural district of NSW.
Method: 6-month pilot project trialling the use of loaned devices to improve access to virtual care.
Results: Outcomes measured across environmental impact (travel avoided in kilometres, reduction to CO2 emissions), percentage of care delivered virtually, telehealth uptake, therapy outcomes, and patient experience.
Discussion: The provision of virtually equipped devices has the potential to play a significant role in the provision of environmentally sustainable, equitable healthcare and has transferability to other speech pathology and allied health services across NSW and beyond.
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