Safety and quality in virtual care

What is virtual care?

Virtual care can be defined as ‘Healthcare activity supported at a distance by information and communication technology service(s).’¹

Many organisations use the term ‘telehealth’ to describe virtual care services.

Virtual care can be delivered by a range of modalities including:

• Telephone
• Videoconferencing
• Remote patient monitoring
• Store and forward
• Website and mobile applications (apps).

Applying the Digital Mental Health Standards in virtual care

The Commission has developed the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health (NSQDMH) Standards to improve the quality of digital mental health service provision, and to protect service users and their support people from harm.

The NSQDMH Standards were launched in November 2020 with resources to support their implementation. A voluntary accreditation scheme subsequently commenced in November 2022. During consultation with state and territory health departments, all jurisdictions expressed an interest in a broader application of the NSQDMH Standards to include virtual care services (including telehealth).

Virtual Care Validation Study: Outcomes Report

The Commission undertook a pilot study of an adapted set of actions from the NSQDMH Standards to determine if they can be used to provide a consistent, comprehensive, and robust framework for safe and high-quality virtual care delivery. The pilot included participants from private and public health services in primary, secondary and tertiary settings and direct-to-consumer virtual care services. 

Key findings included:

• There are unique risks in delivering virtual care and challenges identifying and implementing safety and quality measures 
• There is no nationally agreed guidance or definitions of terms for virtual care
• Virtual care provides opportunities for improved access to clinical care
• There is a need for resources to assist health services safely implement and optimise virtual care services
• The onset of COVID-19 forced a rapid expansion of virtual care with training, governance, and evaluation lagging behind
• Models of care delivered partially or entirely through virtual care have been initially driven by opportunity, but reflection from the sector has demonstrated a desire to further evaluate the value, appropriateness and quality of virtual care.

For queries about the Commission’s work on virtual care, please contact the Digital Health team at acsqhcdigitalhealth@safetyandquality.gov.au.

1. ^{ISO 13131 - Health informatics - Telehealth services - Quality planning guidelines ISO [internet]. Available from: https://www.iso.org/standard/75962.html}External link