Gold Coast Health, a public health service in Queensland, has recently introduced a new digital front door for chronic disease patients. 

The General Medicine-Rapid Access Service (G-RAS) offers an alternative pathway for patient management. Through a scan of a take-home QR code, patients can reach their doctor for follow-ups via secure two-way messaging and voice or video calls. 

WHY IT MATTERS

GCH provides a range of secondary and tertiary health services to around 700,000 people in over 20 health sites across the Gold Coast region. 

To relieve some pressures from its busy emergency department, it launched the G-RAS with the help of Foxo, a provider of health communications technology. 

"Foxo’s Patient Connect Platform provides patients living with chronic and acute conditions a secure communication channel to connect with a clinician. Foxo specialises in secure clinical communications within the health industry, making it a well-suited partner for the purpose of [our] G-RAS service," a GCH spokesperson explained this partnership to Healthcare IT News.

The service runs on Foxo's Patient Connect Platform, which enables what it calls "unified communications"; it is seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Teams, allowing care teams to invite their patients into the MS Teams environment, even without an existing account there. 

"Patients living with chronic and acute conditions can require ongoing support for symptom management and monitoring. Previously, patients experiencing a change in symptoms would often present to the ED for advice. The G-RAS service allows these patients to securely connect with their clinician to receive virtual care, reducing avoidable ED presentations."

Additionally, the platform integrates with GCH's EMR system so it also ensures secure and quick access to vital patient information. 

The GCH spokesperson shared that they expect the digitally-enabled G-RAS to help reduce up to 2,000 unplanned ED presentations each year. 

ON THE RECORD

"Through the integration of Foxo's comprehensive communication platform, our health service stands at the forefront of modern healthcare delivery and accessibility. Our focus on improved patient access and reducing ED visits underscores our commitment to elevating healthcare outcomes," Sandip Kumar, executive director of Strategy, Transformation and Major Capital at GCH said in a media release.