Patients across NSW are highly rating their experiences with virtual care, which is delivering innovative and more convenient healthcare to people across all parts of the state.
The Bureau of Health Information’s Patient Experiences of Virtual Care in 2022 survey found 92% of patients rated their virtual care with NSW hospital outpatient clinics in the past 12 months as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
Minister for Health Ryan Park said the results show virtual care is delivering high-quality, specialist medical care to people right across NSW, regardless of where they live.
“These latest findings show virtual care is convenient, more accessible, and in some cases helps patients feel more at ease,” Mr Park said.
“Virtual care appointments allow patients to access high quality care from the comfort of home, which means people living in rural and regional areas can access world-class healthcare without having to travel long distances.
“By giving medical staff the tools to deliver more virtual services, we can treat more patients, deliver more staff and offer more hours, meaning patients across the whole state will reap the benefits.”
The survey analysed the experiences of 2301 patients who had at least 1 virtual care appointment with a public hospital outpatient clinic in 2022.
Almost 9 in 10 patients (88%) said their health professional always explained things in an understandable way, and around 8 in 10 patients (83%) said they felt involved in decisions about their medical care and treatment at their most recent virtual care appointment.
Virtual care allows patients to speak to health professionals over the phone or by video rather than in person and is more convenient as patients can do it in an environment they can be comfortable in such as their own home.
The report found that nearly 1 in 3 people thought their outpatient virtual care appointment was more convenient (74%) and over half said it saved them time (57%) with ratings consistent across all aged groups and locations across the state.
The results will help inform the monitoring and evaluation of the NSW Virtual Care Strategy 2021-2026.