Pillar 1: Safe and effective virtual care experiences and outcomes

Context

It is vital that virtual care services are safe, accessible, equitable, financially sustainable and effective, with consumers at the centre of their care journey.

Virtual care enables consumers to receive care in their preferred location, reducing the need to travel and providing more timely and equitable access to services, especially in rural and regional areas. It allows health services to monitor patients at home and supports early intervention.

This reduces unplanned hospital presentations. It also supports multidisciplinary care by making it easier for clinicians in different locations to attend consultations together.

It also means that family members, carers or supporters can more easily attend consultations with consumers.

Commitment: Ensure virtual care services are safe, inclusive and accessible for all

Actions

1. Align virtual care models with:
   • national, state and local governance, quality and clinical standards, policies and procedures
   • Victorian virtual care operational framework and virtual care core principles.
2. Create models that are culturally safe, inclusive and appropriate for diverse groups in Victoria including:
   • people living in rural and regional areas
   • older people
   • Aboriginal Victorians
   • people from diverse cultural and language backgrounds
   • people with disability
   • people experiencing mental health issues
   • people who are homeless.

Responsibility: Department of Health

Commitment: Provide a consistent and equitable consumer experience

Actions

1. Determine whether statewide delivery will:
   • increase equity and ease of access
   • improve consumer experience and outcomes
   • provide economies of scale
   • reduce complexity and/or enable load balancing
   • be able to be practically implemented
   • be able to be evaluated for safety and benefits.
2. Where appropriate, adapt statewide models to integrate with local care pathways to meet the needs of specific communities.

Responsibility: Department of Health

Commitment: Build consumer confidence in virtual care

Actions

1. Develop a range of supports for consumers that are inclusive of the diverse groups identified above and where needed, tailored to local needs:
   • improve consumer experience and outcomes
   • provide economies of scale
   • reduce complexity and/or enable load balancing
   • be able to be practically implemented
   • be able to be evaluated for safety and benefits.
2. Where appropriate, adapt statewide models to integrate with local care pathways to meet the needs of specific communities.

Responsibility: Department of Health

Commitment: Ensure that virtual care supports consumer choice, responds to consumer needs and supports consumers to be partners in their own healthcare

Actions

1. Provide consumers with appropriate information about virtual care.
2. Ensure virtual care responds to consumer choice and diverse needs.
3. Develop virtual care models with consumer input.
4. Incorporate consumer feedback in continuous improvement.

Responsibility: Department of Health

Commitment: Ensure that virtual care improves experience and health outcomes

Actions

1. Base virtual care services on evidence that shows improved health outcomes.
   • includes supporting more timely and accessible care, better integrated care or earlier intervention, depending on the urgency and nature of the condition.
2. Develop virtual care services in consultation with consumers and clinicians to ensure they are fit for purpose, and allow consumers to achieve their best health outcomes.
3. Ensure validation of health outcomes and continuous improvement.
4. Build consumer and workforce confidence in virtual care and evaluation.
5. Include improvement activities in health service governance and quality systems relating to virtual care provision (see Pillar 4).

Responsibility: Department of Health