Services
The Centre for Online Health is a leader in telehealth and virtual care, offering a broad range of services. These include planning and implementing telehealth services in collaboration with health organisations; establishing and coordinating telementoring services using the Project ECHO model; and activities which encourage consumer engagement and involvement in the planning and evaluation of new virtual health services. The COH also provides training and education to build capacity in the field of telehealth and virtual care.
Project ECHO
The Centre for Online Health is an accredited Project ECHO replication hub.
Since 2020, the Centre for Online Health has co-ordinated Project ECHO® programs to connect community healthcare providers with specialists. Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a collaborative model of medical education and care management that empowers clinicians in rural and underserved communities to provide specialty care to more people in the community where they live.
Find out more about Project ECHO.
Telehealth Training Portal
The Centre for Online Health have more than two decades experience with education and training programs focussed on telehealth and virtual care. Whilst the majority of this work has involved formal university accredited teaching, the UQ-COH have also developed an online telehealth training program for health service providers.
The Telehealth Training Portal is an exciting online program which can be customised depending on role, skills level, and areas of interest. The course includes a collection of short online modules, containing video presentations from subject matter experts, recommended readings, quizzes, and other learning activities. The courses are evidence-based and routinely been updated with new topics and revised content.
Find out more about our Telehealth Training Portal.
Service Development and Coordination
The Centre for Online Health have had a key role in planning, development, and delivery of telehealth services in a range of public health settings.
Why is this important? An increasing number of organisations and health service providers recognise the benefits of telehealth alongside conventional models of care. However, not all telehealth services are the same, and the implementation and delivery processes need to be careful thought out. Identifying where to start, how to manage change, and how to plan for the delivery of telehealth services can be a complex task. If not done well, this can lead to failures.
The Centre for Online Health has maintained a strong partnership with the Queensland Health Department for over twenty years.
Queensland Telepaediatric Service
COH was contracted by QH to establish the Queensland Telepaediatric Service (2001 - 2015).
In November 2000, the Queensland Telepaediatric Service (QTS) was established in Brisbane, Australia, to support the delivery of telehealth services to patients and clinicians in regional and remote locations. The QTS was built on a centralised coordination model, where telehealth services could be effectively managed by a dedicated telehealth coordinator.
In the first 15 years (Nov 2000 – Mar 2016), more than 23,000 telehealth consultations were delivered for 37 paediatric clinical specialties. The most common service areas included child and youth mental health, neurology, burns care, surgery, and ear, nose and throat (ENT) services. A range of different telehealth service models were developed to align with different clinical service needs and location of services. Whilst most work involved video consultation between hospitals, some services involved the delivery of telehealth services into the home, schools, or community health centres.
PA Telehealth Service
Based on the success of the paediatric telehealth program, the COH were commissioned by the Princess Alexandra Hospital (Metro South) to help with the planning, implementation, and evaluation of telehealth services.
The COH had a key role in designing the PAH Telehealth Centre in 2012 – forming one of the first hospital-based telehealth centres in Australia. The COH also led telehealth service development activities and the coordination of a broad range of telehealth services within MSH, under a service level agreement until 2021.
The telehealth centre is part of the broader telehealth strategy now managed by Metro South.
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Consumer engagement
The Centre for Online Health strongly believe that the success of any telehealth service relies heavily on consumer involvement. As the end user of the service, and perhaps someone with lived experience in specific health conditions or caring for someone, consumers can provide unique insights into what makes a high-quality health service. We acknowledge that partnering with consumers to set the agenda for telehealth research and engage with them throughout the entire process is the only way to effectively meet the needs of those who seek care remotely.
In 2022, we secured funding, opened expressions of interest and invited consumers to participate in a telehealth consumer research group. Consumers enthusiastic about telehealth and digital health services across Australia signed up and researchers facilitated online introductory sessions to get to know each other and align expectations. Participants demonstrated a real passion for telehealth research and were excited about the opportunity to be involved.
A new group name was chosen by consumers: the UQ-COH Telehealth Consumer Reference Group (UQ-COH TCRG).
Find out more about our consumer services.
Consultancy
The Centre for Online Health offer a broad range of customised consultancy services to industry partners around the country.
These services include the formal evaluation of telehealth services; strategic planning and reporting; education and training; and communication strategies which help inform all stakeholders, including health professionals, health services, and consumers.
Find out more about our consultancy services.