NBN sets up telemed trial for war veterans

300 diggers plug in to video technology

The National Broadband Network will be used in an $AU8 million telemonitoring healthcare trial for chronically ill war veterans.

Around 300 veterans will be invited to take part in the trial in the NBN early release areas of Toowoomba in Queensland, Coffs Harbour and Armidale in New South Wales, Mandurah and Geraldton in Western Australia and Kingston Beach in Tasmania, from July 2012.

“This trial will take advantage of reliable, high-speed and high-capacity broadband capability to change the way health services are delivered to the veteran community and allow veterans to access high-quality health care from home,” the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Warren Snowdon said.

The veterans taking part in the trial will have their vital statistics monitored from home and will also have access to high definition video consultations with their GP or nurse coordinator when required.

All patient information will be provided via a secure format and the safety and privacy of personal data will be protected, the government said.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said the trial builds on the health reform initiatives such as Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record System which are attempting to streamline communication between the various health professionals involved in a veteran’s care.

Last week NBN Co opened its $US32.5m Network Service and Operations Centre (NSOC), that enables NBN Co to monitor the network nationally, in Melbourne’s Docklands.

It centre also features a National Test Facility (NTF) which will allow telephone and internet service providers to test new services before they are rolled out across the NBN. It will also be used to test NBN Co’s new products such as the planned multicast capability which support a new wave of services such as IPTV in high-definition. ®