Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. How is the government using the National Broadband Network and digital technology to give patients greater access to health care where they want it and when they want it? Are there any barriers to modernising Australia's healthcare system?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson, who is a terrific local member. Labor is the party of the National Broadband Network and we are the party of the modern technology-driven health system. The NBN will help us bridge the digital divide between city and country areas. With the NBN people in regional Australia will be able to see city based specialists without the need to travel long distances.

There are so many examples. There is Professor John Wilson's program in Melbourne treating cystic fibrosis patients. It connects him as the specialist, the patient's GP, a nurse and other specialists—all able to save patients hours of travel. I met one of his patients from regional Victoria and he told me how grateful he was to have this regular contact. There is the Townsville-Mackay Medicare Local connecting a patient in Mackay with a physio in Townsville, all via videoconferencing. There is the Country South SA Medicare Local doing telehealth consults for patients with heart conditions. There is our telehealth trial in Coffs Harbour—older Australians having access to telehealth nurses and remote monitoring, including things like being able to monitor blood pressure remotely, making sure that people are able to stay in their own homes longer and stay in their own communities longer but get the medical attention they need and deserve in their own homes.

In coming months we will be launching a new video consultation service to go along with our GP after-hours service, so if you are not sure what to do in the middle of the night when your baby has a rash you will be able to show the doctor what the problem is. We are also launching the new enhancement for the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby Helpline, where mums will be able to talk to a counsellor online about the things that are troubling them with their children. There is our personally controlled e-health record, now approaching 400,000 registrations over the last few months, with enhancements like the baby health app that parents can download.

I think the member for Robertson will be interested in this one in particular. As school holidays come up, I know people flood to her electorate as it is such a beautiful part of the country. There is the National Health Services Directory that anyone can download and that can find a local GP, local hospital, local hospital emergency or local pharmacy. They can check the hours; ring up—'Are you still open?' Wherever you are in the country, you can use your personally controlled e-health record and you can use the National Health Services Directory to get information about local health services.

When the Leader of the Opposition was health minister he said that if he hadn't got e-health records up within five years it would have been a failure—a systemic paralysis. That paralysis is certainly on exhibition when it comes to the opposition's health policy. We have had an opposition health spokesperson who has not asked a question now in 200 weeks. He could have completed his own medical degree in that time!