Telstra ramps up health services division

TELSTRA is making an aggressive push into the $120bn healthcare sector.

TELSTRA is making an aggressive push into the $120 billion a year health care sector and has announced new global and local partnerships with healthcare providers as well as a new service to connect rural and regional patients with GPs.

The telco giant has elevated its health-services division — which was launched in February 2013 — into a stand-alone business unit that will look to tap into the growing health sector as an ageing population and increases in chronic illnesses pressure an already burdened national healthcare system.

The unit, which comes under the remit of Telstra (TLS) retail boss Gordon Ballantyne, will see Telstra partner with healthcare authorities and providers to deliver services direct into patients’ homes.

Telstra is hoping the new health unit will be a potential revenue generator for the telco as the company cannot rely on its mobile and fixed-line revenues to prop up its business forever.

Dubbed Telsta Health, the new unit will seek to be the partner of choice to connect patients, healthcare workers, hospitals, pharmacies, government and health funds and build a more convenient way of managing health.

 

“Health spend is growing more than twice as fast as our economy to nearly 10 per cent of GDP, from $120 billion in 2010 to an estimated $200 billion by 2020. Ageing populations, chronic disease and equal access are just some of the challenges faced in bringing quality healthcare to every Australian across a fragmented system,” Mr Ballantyne said.

“Many Australians have a different experience of the healthcare system because of where they live. Seven million people in rural and regional Australia access GP services at a lower rate than the national average,” he said.

“We see our role as integrating eHealth solutions across all care settings to solve these industry challenges.

Telstra Health is about connecting you to your doctor, your doctor to your other providers, and having access to care and information where you want, when you want.”

As part of its refocused push into healthcare, Telstra has partnered with Swiss-based telemedicine company Medgate to create a new joint venture, “Telstra ReadyCare”.

The new unit will see patients talk directly to GPs over video or phone to receive advice, diagnosis, prescriptions, and referrals.

Mr Ballantyne said ReadyCare would help overcome the challenges of distance and availability to provide better levels of access.

The service will operate on a 24/7 basis, and address the estimated 2.2 million of emergency department presentations occurring annually that could have been treated by a GP.

Telstra has also partnered with the Northern Territory government to build a National

Telehealth Connection Service, integrating eHealth solutions, including connectivity, video conferencing, and scheduling, to bring specialist medical care to some of Australia’s most remote communities.

“The service is now connecting community health centres in Tennant Creek and Santa Teresa in the Northern Territory with specialist medical care from teaching hospitals. It combines our strength in data connectivity with our new eHealth capabilities to deliver remote specialist health service,” Mr Ballantyne said.