What is telehealth
Telehealth uses videoconferencing to connect you with your healthcare provider.
It lets you stay home or visit a nearby hospital or health centre to see a healthcare professional from another location.
Ask your health professional if you can use telehealth.
How we use telehealth
We use telehealth for:
- emergency care
- outpatient appointments
- specialist appointments
- clinical handovers
- at home patient appointments.
Telehealth emergency support helps rural clinicians and patients. Patients get expert advice in their local community, reducing the need to be transferred to a bigger hospital.
Telehealth can also help patients stay connected with family during hospital stays and reduces time away from work or school.
Your telehealth appointment
A telehealth appointment is like a face to face medical appointment. You'll see your health professional on the video screen and hear them through your speakers or headphones. Your health professional will see and hear you.
You can ask a family member, carer or friend to sit in on the telehealth appointment with you.
At home
If you're doing your telehealth call from home, you'll need:
- a computer, tablet or smartphone
- internet or Wi-Fi
- a webcam, headset or speakers.
The clinic will send you an email or SMS appointment with a video link for you to click on the day of your appointment.
There will also be a test link in the email. Click it before the day of your appointment to check your webcam and sound are working.
At a clinic or at your GP's office
If you're going to a Queensland Health facility or your GP's office, staff will help you with the video conference equipment. A nurse may sit in the room and help you during your video appointment.
Before your appointment starts, the nurse will tell you what to expect during the video call. They may also take your blood pressure, temperature and do other tests.
Your health professional will update your medical records after your appointment.
Telehealth appointment support
If you have questions about your telehealth appointment, contact our team.
- Phone: 07 4744 4444
- Email: telehealthservices_nwhhs@health.qld.gov.au
You can also learn more about telehealth on the Queensland Government website.