Broadband network offers new and improved opportunities in health care

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the National Broadband Network offers exciting new and improved opportunities in the provision of health care, especially in rural, regional, and remote areas of the country.

Dr Pesce said that the availability of high speed, broadband internet access would allow rural and remote Australians to have access to medical services that they would otherwise have to travel hours to access.

“Improved telemedicine would help local doctors and their patients consult specialists in another town or State,” Dr Pesce said.

“With higher speed internet and broader bandwidth, there would be higher quality video links for consultations and higher resolution of medical images, such as diagnostic scans.

“There would also be faster access to electronic health records, when they become a reality.

“As technology becomes increasingly integrated into routine medical practice, it is important that doctors can access information quickly.

“We need newer and better technology to avoid situations where patient care could be delayed, for example while doctors are forced to wait long periods for diagnostic images to download.

“The AMA welcomes policies from all parties that introduce newer, better and faster technologies to improve patient care,” Dr Pesce said.