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Victoria expands virtual specialist care pilot
The government of Victoria has expanded its pilot project providing virtual specialist care access across the state.
Led by Austin Health and Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Virtual Hospital programme provides virtual wards for heart failure and post-cardiac patients, remote foetal medicine consultations, and regional support services, using digital tools for daily monitoring, virtual rounds, and coordination through a central digital hub.
The pilot, which began in December, has treated more than 260 patients and saved over 1,000 bed days, according to the state government. It now aims to support up to 400 patients by the end of June.
NSW SDPR first go-live at Justice Health
Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network NSW has become the first public health setting in New South Wales to fully implement the Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) system.
The SDPR, delivered by Epic under a $600 million contract, allows clinicians real-time access to consolidated patient data across health facilities in the state. It replaced multiple legacy systems, including nine EMR, six PAS, five pathology LIMS and several other clinical support systems.
This first go-live followed the set up of the SDPR landing zone in September.
Australia offers digital health course for nurses
The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has launched an online course for nursing and midwifery students to build digital health capability ahead of clinical placement.
Developed with La Trobe University, the free course covers five modules: digital professionalism, leadership and advocacy, data and information quality, information-enabled care, and technology in practice. Each 45-minute module is said to be aligned with national capability and accreditation frameworks.
The course is part of the agency's broader training programme on digital health for nurses and midwives, including electronic prescribing and cybersecurity. It supports Australia's National Digital Health Capability Action Plan to prepare a digitally enabled workforce.
