Media release – Jacquie Petrusma, Minister for Health, 21 November 2024
Care@home reaches milestone in patient care
The Tasmanian Liberal Government’s highly successful virtual care program has reached an impressive new milestone this week by caring for its 50,000th patient.
Care@home, which launched in December 2021, provides virtual care and support to people with respiratory illnesses.
Minister for Health, Jacquie Petrusma, said Care@home had proven to be a valuable service for the community since launching as COVID@home and then expanding to include the management of other respiratory illnesses.
“Care@home has now supported more than 50,000 Tasmanians, including 20,000 people over the age of 60 and close to 4,000 aged 5 or under since it was first established,” Minister Petrusma said.
“Not only is this delivering better outcomes for our patients, but it’s also helping to alleviate pressure on our health system, including by reducing potentially preventable hospital attendances and admissions.
“The Tasmanian Government is committed to providing new and innovative virtual care options to meet the health needs of Tasmanians under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.”
The Care@home team can monitor patients via SMS and phone calls, and for higher risk cases, provide a virtual monitoring kit for people to check their heart rate, oxygen levels and temperature, which is monitored through a provided smartphone.
Any Tasmanians with a respiratory illness, including COVID-19, influenza, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), who need care or support can utilise the service without a referral.
For more information on the 24/7 Care@home service, visit the Department of Health website.
