Digital health to support primary care provision during a global pandemic
Elizabeth Sturgiss
A B * , Jane Desborough C , Sally Hall Dykgraaf C , Sethunya Matenge C , Garang Dut C , Stephanie Davis D , Lucas de Toca D , Paul Kelly D and Michael Kidd C E F G H
A School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
B Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
C College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
D Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
E Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
F Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
G Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
H Southgate Institute for Health Equity and Society, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Australian Health Review 46(3) 269-272 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH21263
Submitted: 13 August 2021 Accepted: 9 October 2021 Published: 18 March 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY)
Abstract
The urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia has seen the implementation of digital health technologies to support continuity of high-quality primary care provision. Digital health innovation has been used to operationalise the nation’s pandemic preparedness principles by reducing risk of infection to both healthcare workers and at-risk patients, sustaining care for chronic and acute health conditions, and supporting the mental health of the population. In this perspective piece, we document the Australian Federal government’s digital health response to ensure the ongoing delivery of high-quality primary care. This includes the implementation of telehealth, point-of-care testing, electronic records and e-prescriptions, national primary care data collection and analysis, and digital communication. Digital health has been a critical element of the pandemic response and paves the way for future primary care provision during disasters and emergencies. Further research is needed to capture the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of these innovations for both patients and primary care practitioners.
Keywords: communication, COVID‐19, digital health, disaster response, pandemic, prevention, primary care, telehealth.
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