Healthdirect Australia

We’re helping Australians navigate the health system to get the right care, faster, while easing pressure on emergency departments. Our latest research published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health shows higher usage of the healthdirect service, more care options and increased telehealth familiarity reduced the number of consumers considering emergency departments from 37% to 25%. “By offering more convenient and cost-effective alternatives for lower-acuity presentations and making virtual and nonurgent care options more accessible, consumers are empowered to confidently choose the most suitable pathway, rather than defaulting to emergency departments,” says contributing author on the research, Mitch Burger Chief Insights Officer, Healthdirect Australia. Read more about this research https://lnkd.in/eqsZmKJG

Last week, we had the privilege of welcoming Steve Renouf — rugby league legend, health advocate and advisor to our Reconciliation working group — to our Healthdirect Townhall. Steve spoke with warmth, honesty and conviction about what it means to genuinely support the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. His words reinforced something we keep coming back to: reconciliation isn't a document or a milestone. It's a way of showing up, every day. For Healthdirect, that means making sure our services are genuinely accessible, culturally safe and trusted by the communities who need them most — including in how our nurses engage on the helpline, how we design our digital content, and who we partner with. The need is real: 📊 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face a life expectancy gap of around 8 years 📊 Up to 4x the rate of chronic disease 📊 3x the rate of mental illness 📊 Infant mortality rates are doubled in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities These figures remind us why this work matters — and why we're committed to being an organisation that earns trust through action, not just intention. We know Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use the Healthdirect service and we are committed to understanding how we can continue to make that experience meaningful and contribute to better health outcomes.   #Reconciliation #IndigenousHealth #ClosingTheGap #Healthdirect #CulturalSafety #digitalhealth

Australia's health system is facing workforce shortages, AI disruption, and shifting consumer expectations. Here's how Healthdirect is responding.   🩺 AI scribe pilot to decrease time spent on admin tasks 🤖 Understanding consumer confidence with AI self-help health tools 🔍 Ensuring Australians access trusted health information when using AI assistants   Healthdirect is facing these challenges head-on — pivoting where needed, strengthening our digital infrastructure, and continuing to deliver the high-quality 24/7 virtual health services Australians depend on every day.   Read our latest Quarterly Report to see how we're building a more resilient health system for the future  

It’s been a busy 2 days at #AustralianHealthcareWeek. From scaling AI, designing for consumers, virtual front doors, culturally safe care, informed-decision making through technology, environmental and social impacts of digital health, our team showcased how we’re helping Australians to navigate the healthcare system to get the right care they need. Among the inspiring presentations from industry peers, it was great to connect with so many of you at our exhibition booth. See you all next year!

Less than a week to go until Australian Healthcare Week! The conference features 500+ expert speakers over 2 days, and offers a broad view of the health ecosystem that goes far beyond just digital transformation. For Healthdirect, it is a great opportunity to share our work with industry peers and understand how our virtual services integrate with the broader physical and operational realities of the national healthcare system. Healthdirect speaker sessions are listed below. We’ll also have a booth in the expo area so please say hello. Register for your free ticket here https://lnkd.in/gS3Hnz42 Bettina McMahon Mitch Burger Travis Hodgson Rachel De Sain Tim Carroll Karen Gallagher Gareth Sherlock

The introduction of new National Telehealth Standards will add value to virtual health consumers by ensuring that telehealth services are delivered safely, securely, and consistently across Australia to provide greater confidence in virtual healthcare. Healthdirect is proud to support the release of the new National Telehealth Standards. As a member of the Australian Telehealth Standards Consortium, convened by Patients Australia, Healthdirect contributed to the development of the national telehealth safety and quality standards and a robust accreditation framework. Other members include Medibank, HCF, BUPA, nib Group’s Honeysuckle Health, Updoc, Eucalyptus, Healthengine, MedAdvisor, MOSH, Medmate, 13Sick, and Wesfarmers Health. With telehealth now a permanent part of Australia’s healthcare system, the standards set out clear expectations across clinical governance, safety, informed consent, continuity of care, advertising, technology and data security, and accreditation. “Good virtual healthcare governance isn't complicated - but it does require commitment. At Healthdirect Australia, delivering 62 million consumer interactions every year, we've built that commitment into how we operate. These collaborative standards validate what makes virtual care work for all Australians: rigorous clinical oversight, proactive safety systems, and consumers at the centre of their own care” - Dr Todd Miller, Senior Medical Director, Healthdirect.

Healthdirect has seen a 9x increase in which consumer behaviour since November? 🤔 It's our second most popular search. Right behind GP. Think you know? Yep. Sexual health clinic searches. 72,000 Australians decided to get tested, and they came to us to find out where. The Australian Government's Beforeplay campaign made STI testing feel like a normal, even fun, part of being sexually active. It pointed people straight to our Service Finder. Awareness went in, action came out. Bold public health campaign + the right infrastructure = 72,000 people doing something great for themselves. Happy Mardi Gras 🌈

We’re helping consumers to get the most out of their video-based consultations by enabling healthcare providers to prepare an enriched plain-English summary that is sent securely to both the patient and the health care provider after the consultation and then deleted from the Video Call platform. The feature is integrated directly with the Healthdirect Video Call platform via an app. It is designed to empower consumers with more information that helps them to better understand their condition and next steps in care.  Developed in collaboration with the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC), Monash University, Department of Health Victoria, Monash Health and the University of Melbourne. The app is now available nationally to all clinicians to use on the Healthdirect Video Call platform, which facilitates over 2 million virtual consultations a year. Read more here https://lnkd.in/gNti8K4N

We are committed to a healthier Australia and understand that our impact reaches far beyond the provision of services, touching the community and environment that we all share. Our Healthdirect office has achieved a 5.5 star NABERS rating. The NABERS national rating system measures energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and indoor environment quality of a building or tenancy and its impact on the environment. Our switch to green energy sources and introduction of a comprehensive waste management system, an assessment of our real-life operational data, including energy consumption of computers and devices contributed to our high rating. If you are interested in our sustainability work, read our Environment, Governance and Social Framework https://lnkd.in/gWqqmAnJ

Healthdirect Australia welcomes Jo Willoughby to its Board. Ms Willoughby has been appointed following a merit-based recruitment process endorsed by Healthdirect’s shareholders; the Commonwealth, State and Territory Government. She brings extensive experience in governance, executive management, marketing and business transformation. She is a highly commercial company director, board chair and C-suite executive with over 20 years of leadership across finance, infrastructure services, logistics and industrials, technology, and retail sectors. #virtual #health https://lnkd.in/gTwgbRUZ