An e-health project aimed at improving chronic disease patient care marks the beginning of a raft of e-health projects enabled by the National Broadband network, according to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.
The Chronic Disease Management Network (CDM-Net), launched at Geelong Hospital, is a collaboration between Precedence Health Care and partners, aimed at linking people to their GPs and healthcare providers through the Internet and mobile phones to automatically monitor their health.
The project, which received funding under the Government's Clever Networks program, was trialled in the Barwon South-Western Region of Victoria and the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia with more than 700 patients. The trials have demonstrated a 200 per cent increase in the use of care plans and 300 per cent increase in collaboration between care providers and the project will now begin a nationwide rollout.
Conroy said the project was at the forefront of a radical change in medical services
"The National Broadband Network will be a key enabler for e-health applications and CDM-Net highlights the kind of services we can expect in the future," he said.
Conroy said the Government was looking for similar types of collaborative, scalable solutions as part of its $60 million Digital Regions Initiative.
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