Telehealth is the future, but remote services need extra support to make it work

This has led leading bodies to push for these services to become integral post-pandemic, but the unique setting of our region presents unique challenges to any such changes.

Katherine West Health CEO Sinon Cooney is supportive of the telehealth system, but says it requires specific support infrastructure to function effectively for Katherine and the surrounding areas.

"Telehealth has been on our agenda for quite some time but with COVID-19 we've had to bite the bullet and go a bit deeper," he said.

"We've been really happy with the uptake and the service does appear to be working effectively for the communities we administer, but it's not simple and it does place a heavy load on our services.

"It saves the client a lot of time because they don't have to travel into a town or city to consult with a specialist, and of course the doctors don't have to make trips out.

"But for our organisation, it's actually a lot more difficult as we work across language and cultural barriers in applying a useful but impersonal technology.

"Four telehealth appointments will take up an entire day for a nurse because it requires exhaustive preparation with the client and debriefing afterwards.

"Before, once the need was identified we would just take them to the airport and pick them up a few days later, now we're with them throughout the entire process.

"It is a valuable tool, but it isn't a replacement for finding doctors to come out and see the people here within their environment to understand the context we work in," Mr Cooney said.

Telehealth has been part of service delivery in the Katherine region for the past few years, but has been used predominately as a handy alternative when face-to-face isn't possible.

During the pandemic, however, it has become a more popular option as both clients and practitioners have had their movement limited by bio-security measures.

This shift has been an overall success in ensuring care standards are maintained during the crisis.

This brought the Rural Doctor's Association of Australia and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine together recently in calling for telehealth to become the "new normal" of bush healthcare.

They pressed the need for such services to become "an integral part of how the health system works in the future" to improve outcomes in remote areas which struggle to recruit doctors out from the cities.

"As the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted there is a huge opportunity for service redesign to provide greater access to a multitude of local health services for people in the bush," a spokesman said.

"Top of the list for rural communities has been the increased use of telehealth, as it has made it much easier for many patients to access the care they need.

"We urge governments and policy-makers not to simply discard what has worked well during the pandemic as we adjust to a new 'normal' in healthcare delivery," the spokesman said.

NT Primary Health Network CEO Nicki Herriot said two services in Katherine have received $26,000 in grants to apply telehealth practices.

She also acknowledged any restructuring of health services to accommodate telehealth post-pandemic needed to be tailored to the specific communities they service.

For Sinon Cooney and Katherine West Health Board, however, permanently restructuring their service requires permanently restructured funding as well.

"We are receiving some relief through Medicare so we appreciate that and hope the support would continue if we do go further down the telehealth route," he said.

"Costs are being saved for the government in not having to transport people and provide them with care in town.

"But the opposite is true for on-the-ground operators, so those savings the government are getting need to be passed on for us to effectively meet the clients needs on the ground.

"It is a disengaging process receiving care from a stranger on the screen so the pressure is on our staff to support and motivate the client and to ensure they understand what's happening.

"What we're really looking at for the future is a hybrid system, where the value of face-to-face consultations isn't forgotten and outreach with all kinds of doctors still happens," he said.

Overall, the application of telehealth isn't so simple as continuing down the path COVID-19 has forced healthcare providers into.

"Every service is different so to restructure is still a really complex process," Mr Cooney said.

"There is absolutely some great benefits we're seeing from telehealth so we're keen to take it on, but we do need those extra resources to make it sustainable," he said.