MORE Bendigo Health patients could be seen online in the future, as the organisation plans its post-coronavirus future.
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Staff have conducted more than 2700 telehealth appointments since April, compared to about 200 in the previous 12 months.
Chief executive Peter Faulkner said Bendigo Health had committed to running a formal evaluation of telehealth, asking both patients and staff about their experience.
Mr Faulkner said telehealth use meant Bendigo Health had reached patients across the Loddon Mallee and beyond.
He said Bendigo Health had moved a lot of outpatient activity to telehealth platforms as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic became a challenge.
Lactation consultant Carolyn Arandt said telehealth consultations had allowed her service to reach women as far away as Nhill, Rochester, Boort and Swan Hill.
Ms Arandt said Bendigo Health would look at increasing volume of lactation telehealth services.
Consultants moved their six-weeks-worth of post-birth follow up appointments online after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
"It's more effective for the women, they're actually within their own environment," Ms Arandt said.
"We've been able to refine our skills and use various props to be able to empower the women to get to know their babies and follow their cues a lot more, and trust that together they'll be able to make it through he journey of the early transition into parenthood.
"The mums have really enjoyed it, in the sense that they've been able to be in their own environment. So they've had their immediate people around them, being their support people, their partner, and toddlers, et cetera."
Bendigo Health has moved some surgical, medical, cancer and women's and children's services appointments online.
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Mr Faulkner said Bendigo Health would look into the place of telehealth in a non-COVID context.
"There are a number of appointments that can and should be done virtually, for patient convenience and for the efficiency of our services. But we don't believe all appointments can be moved to that," he said.
"Part of our evaluation will be to determine what patients benefit the most: what part of the overall journey of a patient's care is appropriate to be telehealth and what part if appropriate to be face-to-face?"
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