2-3 April 2025 Hilton Sydney

Overview

The National Telehealth & Virtual Care Conference will take place on the 2-3 April 2025 at the Hilton Sydney. Meet a variety of different people outside your existing network, discuss common challenges and exchange learnings about telehealth and virtual care in Australia – present and future.

This event will gather a diverse mix of people from public hospitals and LHDs, PHNs and primary care providers, aged care, allied health, private health providers, health insurers, government departments and agencies, telehealth companies, telehealth technology and software providers and many more.

KEY TOPICS INCLUDE:

  • Emerging technologies in telehealth – AI, VR, Remote Monitoring, etc.
  • Staff engagement on virtual care
  • Telehealth in rural and remote areas
  • Policy, funding, and patient engagement
  • Addressing how we link public, private and primary care
  • Ways to provide more comprehensive virtual care services
  • Privacy, security and legal considerations
  • Interdisciplinary approaches to telehealth
  • Success stories in telehealth implementation
  • Telehealth for chronic disease management, pediatrics, corrections, mental health, first responders, etc.
  • Future trends

CALL FOR SPEAKERS!
Get in touch if you’re interested in speaking, and/or nominate topic ideas that you would like to see featured. For speaker submissions, please include the following information:

  • Name, job title, organisation
  • Presentation title
  • 3-5 bullet points explaining your main discussion points (40 words max.)
  • Would you like to join a panel discussion? Please list topics you can speak on
  • Would you like to facilitate a workshop? Please suggest workshop topics

To submit and for any queries, please contact:
Irene Amo
Senior Conference Producer
irene.amo@informa.com

Connect Virtual Care
The event will take place as part of 2024’s CONNECT VIRTUAL CARE event. We’re bringing together three related, but distinct events which will be co-located at the Hilton Sydney. One pass gives access to all three conferences

Sponsors

2025 Speakers


Dr Teresa Anderson AM
Chief Executive, Single Digital Patient Record Implementation Authority


Dr Sharon Hakkennes
Chief Digital Health Officer,
Victorian Department of Health


Dr Melanie Smith
GP Consultant, Co-Clinical Lead, SA Virtual Care Service, SA Health & Deputy Chair, SA Faculty of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners


Dr Marija Kirjanenko
Emergency Physician, Victorian Virtual Emergency Department & Eastern Health, Melbourne


Phil Greenup
Telehealth Program Officer,
Queensland Health


Ryan Hutton
Manager – Provider Networks,
nib


Carl Fiedler
Virtual Care Manager, Central Coast Local Health District


Niranjan Bidargaddi
Professor of Digital Health,
Flinders University


Adeola Bamgboje-Ayodele
PhD, Research Fellow, Human Factors, The University of Sydney


Dr June Song
Medical Director, Hospital in the Home Adult, Monash Health


Julia Conway
Director, Hospital Policy and Projects, Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority


Donna Parkes
Stream Lead, Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation


Dr Konrad Kangru
General Practitioner, Whitsunday Doctors Service; Medical Advisor, Office of Rural and Remote Health; Qld Representative, RACGP Rural Faculty; Board Director, North Qld PHN


Dr Matt Vickers
Clinical Director,
Eucalyptus


Mirela Prgomet PhD
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University


Brenton Jones
Senior Digital Health Officer, Western NSW Primary Health Network


Michelle Dobie
Principal Advisor Digital Health Systems & Projects, Royal Flying Doctor Service (SA/NT)

AGENDA

DAY ONE | 7 March 2024

08:30

Registration & Morning Coffee

09:00

DAY ONE OPENING

09:05

Opening remarks from the Chair

Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

09:10

INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE | Real-world evaluations of virtual care and out of hospital care

Sarah will summarise recent real-world evaluations from across the Health Innovation Network across England, focusing on equity of access, staff experience of innovative ways of delivering care, and evidencing impact to ensure sustainability of innovations. The presentation will cover a breadth of health conditions.

Dr Sarah Robinson, Director of Delivery, Health Innovation East, Implementation Lead, NIHR ARC East of England

09:40

CASE STUDY | Learnings from the world’s oldest and longest running telehealth service

  • Delivering healthcare to patients in the most remote parts of Australia
  • Learnings from providing services which require multiple logistics and aircraft
  • 24hr access to emergency telehealth and telepharmacy
  • Latest virtual care projects

Dr Meg O’Connell, Medical Lead – Telehealth, RFDS Queensland Section

10:10

FIRESIDE CHAT | Counting and costing virtual care activity

  • Understanding and working through the challenges of classifying, counting, costing, and funding virtual care
  • What are the recommendations, guidance and advice to ensure that virtual care activity is reflective of current virtual care service models and responsive to future innovative care?
  • As the sophistication of VC increases and moves at scale away from a “purely” telehealth focussed model.
  • How the activity for virtual care is collected and subsequently funded.

Julia Conway, Acting Director, Hospital Policy, IHACPA
Joshua Tatham, Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Activity Based Management
Health System Support Group, NSW Health
Moderator: Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

10:40

Networking Break & Morning Tea

11:25

Virtual Care, a Reality not a Dream! Cambridge University Hospital Virtual Ward Implementation Model

  • CUH Virtual Ward @ home (Cambridge University Hospitals)
  • Challenges CUH faced/why implemented VW?
  • The journey so far and working with stakeholders (the concept and stakeholders)
  • What is the equipment needed and platform/technology selection
  • The daily management: referral, onboarding, care plan…. How do we manage telephone and video, workforce
  • Performance and pathways
  • Patient experience
  • Challenges and obstacles overcome
  • Next steps

Gemma Czech, Clinical Nurse Lead for Virtual Wards, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
Andy Bailey, Operations Manager Virtual Wards, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom

11:50

Integrating virtual care into services – lessons learnt

  • An overview of the NSW Virtual Care Strategy (2021-2026) and overarching outcomes
  • Background overview of the Virtual Hospital in the Home initiative, the measures for success and governance
  • Key identifiable lessons learnt for successful implementation, including foundations for sustaining and scaling the initiative

Jen Wilson, Principal Policy Officer, Virtual Care Unit, NSW Ministry of Health
Susan Massey, Senior Policy Officer, Virtual Care Unit, NSW Ministry of Health

12:20

CASE STUDY | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – Telehealth Foot Service

  • A continuity-of-care approach to improving outcomes for diabetes-related foot complications in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • How the telehealth High-risk foot services (HRFS) work
  • Key achievements of the service
  • Future steps

Joseph Agius, Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Multi-disciplinary Foot Telehealth Team, Central Adelaide Local Health Network – Royal Adelaide Hospital
Sonja Rogasch, High Risk Foot Coordinator, Central Adelaide Local Health Network – Royal Adelaide Hospital  

12:50

A word from our Connect Virtual Care Lunch Sponsor: Masimo

Maree Devitt, Country Manager, ANZ, Masimo

13:00

Networking Lunch

14:00

To AI or Not To AI.. that is the question

  • Is using AI always the right choice
  • What to consider when using AI in a virtual care setting
  • Guardails to safeguard the use of AI
  • Asking the right questions

Mona Thind, Director, Strategy, Investment, Strategy and Architecture, eHealth NSW

14:30

PANEL | Enhancing telehealth – exploring ways to provide a more comprehensive telehealth service

  • What are some of the emerging devices and technologies which can enhance TH models of care? i.e. Remote monitoring, VR, AR, ChatGPT and other technologies
  • What is emerging from a virtual care perspective that has shown value?
  • Technology platforms – what they can do and what they can’t
  • How are these emerging technologies being implemented and what are the barriers to implementation?
  • Do all the emerging technologies work for all patient groups? Where are they a help and where are they a hindrance?

Kristen Short, Director Partnerships and Innovation, South Western Sydney PHN
Shannon Wallis, Nurse Unit Manager, Preventative Integrated Care Service, West Morton Health
Mona Thind, Director, Strategy, Investment, Strategy and Architecture, eHealth NSW
Ilma Rahmathullah, Business Solution Analyst, Catholic Healthcare
Dr Peter Baird, Senior Medical Advisor, Amplar Health
Moderator: Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

15:15

Afternoon Networking

15:40

PHN-commissioned mental health services: Consumer and provider experiences of telehealth

  • How do mental health consumers use telehealth?
  • Does rurality or acuity affect the quality of service?
  • What are the barriers and enablers for consumers and service providers?
  • Is telehealth just phone and video appointments?
  • Opportunities for remote monitoring of consumers’ mental health

Alanna Sherry, Project Coordinator, Mental Health, COORDINARE – South Eastern NSW PHN

16:10

CASE STUDY | First responders and keeping patients in the community

  • Police and Ambulance video consults with mental health clinicians – does the patient need to come to the facility?
  • Virtual options which help patients stay closer to home
  • What really happens with this on the ground?

Mandy Smith, Mental Health First Responder & Virtual Care Coordinator, Hunter New England Mental Health
Luke Wiseman, Chief Superintendent, Associate Director Clinical Operations, Hunter New England Sector, NSW Ambulance
Jonathan Holt, General Manager Mental Health Services, Hunter New England Health

16:40

PANEL | HITH Vs Virtual Hospitals

  • What is the difference?
  • Is language preventing us from thinking more broadly about innovative care?
  • Who is responsible for what?
  • Where are we headed?

Chenyao (Jerry) Yu, General Manager, Virtual Care and Hospital in the Home Services, Northern Sydney Local Health District
Dr Joanna Lawrence, Consultant Paediatrician, Researcher and VVED Paediatric Clinical Lead, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Sarah McRae, Chief Executive Officer, Calvary Amplar Health Joint Venture
Voni Leighton, Board member, HITH Society of Australasia
Moderator: Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

This session will host both the HITH conference and the telehealth audience

17:25

Networking drinks & end day 1

DAY TWO | 8 March 2024

08:30

Registration & Morning Coffee

09:00

DAY ONE OPENING

09:10

Opening remarks from the Chair

Associate Professor Tam C. Nguyen, Deputy Director Research, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne  

09:15

When to.. When not.. How does one decide?

Making decisions on when it is and not appropriate to use virtual care can be quite complex, so many considerations from a clinical and consumer perspective. The ACI has developed in partnership with clinicians and consumers a framework to assist in making decisions about the most suitable mode to provide or access healthcare. We call it our Virtual Care Informed Decision Framework and this session will unpack the framework and advise of the insights of the pilot.

Shane Delves, A/Stream Manager Virtual Care, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

09:45

PANEL | Staff engagement – what do medical staff think about virtual care?

  • What is important to medical staff when it comes to virtual care?
  • What impacts clinical decisions? What makes a difference to them?
  • Telehealth Phone Vs Video?
  • How do you effectively engage with medical staff and bring people on board?

Prof Mark Arnold, Chief Medical Officer, Western NSW LHD
Michael Franco, Interim Executive Director Digital Health, Medical Oncologist & Palliative Medicine Physician, Monash Health
A/Prof Chris Pearce, Chair, ACRRM Digital Health Committee

10:30

Morning Networking Break

11:10

Regulating technology-based practice

A/Prof Stephen Adelstein, Practitioner Member, Medical Board of Australia and Chair, Medical Training Survey Steering Committee and Consultative Forum

11:40

How national telehealth standards can improve integration with the public health system

  • Do the Medical Board’s telehealth guidelines tell the full story?
  • Are national standards for telehealth platforms needed to deal with clinical governance, security of health data, quality of prescribing decisions and avoidance of errors?
  • Who should be responsible for promulgating these standards and why?
  • How can we reduce the number of avoidable hospital presentations and why are national standards important for clinicians in the public health system to support this?

Dr Matt Vickers, Clinical Director, Eucalyptus

12:00

Where is privacy going and how can we prepare ourselves?

  • Upcoming proposed privacy reforms and how they might impact collection and handling of health records
  • Why is this important, and relevance to different stakeholders in the virtual care environment
  • Changes to privacy-related patient consent requirements (and how this ties in with clinical and financial consent)
  • What you can do now to prepare for these reforms

Ella Cannon, Principal, Hive Legal

12:30

Networking Lunch

13:30

CASE STUDY | Avoiding the pilot graveyard – Ramsay Connect Virtual’s journey from pilot to pioneering care in the missing middle

  • The leap of faith required to pilot virtual services without any sustained funding
  • Outcomes of the leap: Service evolution, challenges and lessons learned
  • What a funded future looks like

Ian Galvin, CEO, Ramsay Connect

14:00

CASE STUDY | The role of community co-design in the delivery of high quality and effective telehealth care

  • Assessing telehealth solutions rolled out during COVID and unpacking the limitations of these models
  • How deep engagement with consumers and clinicians in the design of telehealth solutions provides an alternative pathway for designing Telehealth services that ensure clinical quality, while responding to the identified needs of the communities they
  • Independent analysis of a new HealthAccess Telehealth service which is using a consumer co-design approach showing significant savings to health system providers and high levels of engagement
  • Two case studies demonstrating how community and clinician co-design can contribute to quality services that can achieve both high satisfaction and genuine cost-effectiveness for providers
  • The co-design of low acuity continuity of care model for rural communities
  • The co-design of a hybrid model of care for residents of aged care facilities

Mark Burdack, CEO, Healthy Communities Foundation Australia Ltd

14:30

My homelessness journey – A real world view on the accessibility of virtual care

Matthew Scott, Peer Support Worker, St Vincents Hospital Melbourne

14:45

PANEL | Increasing accessibility – are we getting virtual healthcare to the people who need it
most?

  • Beyond the general population – who are the people who can benefit most from virtual care and how are we reaching them? People with disabilities? CALD communities? Homeless? Rural and regional populations?
  • What does the data telling us about the impact of virtual care and where are the examples of success?
  • Are we reaching the right people with virtual care or are we creating increasing inequity?
  • How can we improve telehealth and virtual care to deliver to diverse populations?

Dr Jennie Hutton, Emergency Physician, Senior Research Fellow La Trobe and Melbourne University. Priority Population Lead VVED, Northern Health
Mark Burdack, CEO, Healthy Communities Foundation Australia Ltd
Dr Meg O’Connell, Medical Lead – Telehealth, RFDS Queensland Section
Matthew Scott, Peer Support Worker, St Vincents Hospital Melbourne

15:30

Close of conference

BOOK A PASS

STANDARD PASS

REGISTER NOW

  • Access to full two day conference
  • On-demand recordings
  • Networking drinks reception
  • Pre-book meetings with event app
  • Searchable attendee list
  • App messaging function
  • Live interactive Q&A & audience polls
  • Dedicated networking opportunities
  • BONUS post-event video content including speaker interviews
  • Access discounted hotel rate

VIRTUAL PASS

REGISTER NOW

  • Access to full two- day conference online
  • On-demand recordings
  • Searchable attendee list
  • App messaging function
  • Q&A through event app

  • Workshop pass: $495 + GST
  • Dinner ticket (single): $150 + GST
Packages Full Rate
2 Day Conference – Standard Pass $2,695 + GST
2 Day Conference – Healthcare Professional Pass $1,995 + GST
Virtual Pass – Standard $2,595 + GST
Virtual Pass – Healthcare Professional $1,795 + GST

Insights

The new models of care born from telehealth
Read more >>

Venue

Hilton Sydney
488 George St
Sydney NSW 2000

Event Code of Conduct

We want everyone who comes to our events to have a great experience. This code explains our expectations and rules, which includes general good practice behaviour, and how to report anything witnessed or experienced that goes against them. Read our Event Code of Conduct here.

ConnectMe + Streamly

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All of our events utilise a bespoke dynamic smartphone app, ConnectMe – which guarantees attendees a premium event experience. Logins are sent prior to the conference commencement allowing you to check who’s attending, schedule in meetings and catch ups, participate in live Q+A and interactive polls, and much more. ConnectMe ensures you never miss a beat prior, during and post event.

 

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* Note: In a minority of cases, speakers may request their sessions to be excluded from Streamly access.