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After hours

Telemedicine service now providing care in the after hours period

31 August 2020

SWSPHN has commissioned a telemedicine service, My Emergency Doctor, to provide our region’s residents with convenient access to emergency specialist care in the after hours period. ‘After hours’ is defined as:

  • before 8am and after 6pm on weekdays;
  • before 8am and after 12pm on Saturdays; and
  • all day Sundays and public holidays.

My Emergency Doctor is provided at no cost to patients outside regular practice opening hours and aims to complement care provided by GPs. Calls made outside these hours will incur a fee.

 

What does the service cover?

My Emergency Doctor covers acute medical conditions when a patient’s regular GP is not available after hours, and if they are unsure if they should attend a hospital Emergency Department (ED) or the nearest ED is not easily accessible.

 

How is it accessed?

The service can be accessed via phone or a smart device app, available on the App Store or Google Play, and is delivered by specialist emergency physicians who are Fellows of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (FACEMs).

 

Features and benefits

My Emergency Doctor works in collaboration with the patient’s regular care provider. Providing patient consent is given, the GP will receive a post-consultation summary that outlines the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment plan and case outcome.

Additionally, My Emergency Doctor can support consultations in multiple languages via The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National). Patients or their carers will need to be able to communicate the language for which they a translator, their return contact phone number and Medicare card number in English.

 

What should I do?

GPs are encouraged to share the dedicated SWSPHN My Emergency Doctor hotline number and website link with patients who may want to use the service when their regular GP is closed.

The website link outlines how to use the service, including instructions on how to use the phone service or download the My Emergency Dr app using eligible residential post codes.

 

How do I find out more?

Practices should contact SWSPHN if they’d like to have printed information brochures available at their practice.

In the event a video connection to the My Emergency Dr app cannot be made, telephone connection is available by calling 1800 001 033.

Please note this service is not a replacement for 000 – if the patient is unconscious, has chest pain, difficulty breathing, uncontrolled bleeding or has been in a major accident, please dial 000.

To find more information