Significant medical developments are taking place in Western Australia (WA), which are massively improving the quality of healthcare care across the region.
A sizeable proportion of medical appointments are now being conducted online, giving families much each access to healthcare services.
Read on as we look at several ways telehealth is improving health outcomes for families in WA.
Improving Access to Primary Care Through Affordable Appointments
Parents rely on being able to access medical professionals to ensure their families are in good health, but staff shortages have impacted rural and outer suburban communities.
Australia’s Dr Ganesh Naidoo devised a solution that greatly benefits people in Western Australia and across the rest of the country.
Dr Naidoo noticed that many patients spend hours on the road to access medical services. His technological innovation assists those patients.
He established Medmate, which makes healthcare easier and more affordable. It is considered one of the best telehealth services on comparison website Medicompare.
As one of Australia’s fastest-growing telehealth platforms, Medmate allows families to conduct GP telehealth appointment booking online without having to travel.
That kind of access is a massive relief for parents, who now have the flexibility to conduct medical check-ups while balancing their everyday duties and activities.
What makes these services even more appealing is they are designed to complement, not replace, any relationship a family already has with their regular GPs.
Reducing the Pressure on ICUs in WA
Telehealth has helped reduce the burden on medical professionals working in emergency units across Western Australia.
Virtual care is playing a massive role in helping hospitals across the state cope with increasing demand in intensive care units (ICUs), despite the obvious problems of staff shortage.
Many wards do not necessarily need someone on hand to check in on patients. Some hospitals in WA use technology to monitor patients remotely and track their health data in real time.
The service, Health in a Virtual Environment (HIVE), was first introduced in Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) in 2020 but has now been adopted by Armadale Health Service (AHS).
RPH recently conducted a study to evaluate the clinician and economic impact of the HIVE service, and the findings were remarkable. Researchers observed 288 patients with scoliosis who had spinal surgery and needed intensive post-operative monitoring in ICUs.
The study found that when patients were monitored using HIVE, they spent about 17 hours less on average, a 69 percent reduction compared to those monitored in the normal setup.
Their health didn’t worsen despite spending less time in the ICU, and the system was so cost-effective that it saved A$2,682 (about $1,700) per patient.
Supporting Recovery Beyond Hospital Walls
One of the clearest examples of telehealth’s impact in WA can be seen in paediatric services that place children and families at the heart of healthcare delivery.
Continence and Enuresis Services is leading the virtual care shift by embedding it as a core part of its model, making it easier for most families to reach clinicians via video calls.
More than 75% of appointments across the services are conducted via telehealth, making life easier for families living far from Perth.
The service was originally selected as a pilot group for video call implementation in 2020, so it was well prepared when the pandemic forced healthcare systems to rethink their strategy.
Telehealth’s value becomes even more apparent when looking at how it supports families after a child leaves the hospital.
Recovery doesn’t stop at discharge, but many families struggle to access ongoing support once they are back home. New virtual care programmes in Western Australia aim to fix this by providing regular, structured follow-up and guidance.
Australia’s first Paediatric Post-Sepsis Care Programme, launched in 2025 to support children recovering from serious illnesses, is a great example of this in action.
It helps families understand what to expect and ensures children receive ongoing care during recovery, rather than being left to manage on their own.
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