CMS is leading the development of a more sustainable healthcare system through innovation, collaboration, and flexibility, providing accessible, high-quality care for those who need it.
For many Australians, access to timely, high-quality healthcare has long been determined by where they live. Geographic isolation, workforce shortages and an overburdened health system contribute to disparities in patient outcomes and staff wellbeing, affecting both rural and metropolitan areas.
Connected Medical Solutions (CMS), also known as My Emergency Doctor (MED) targets these challenges nationwide, bridging the healthcare equity gap with virtual healthcare solutions.
CMS integrates virtual services into the healthcare continuum, offering continuous on-demand access to specialist-backed telemedical support to hospitals, urgent care centres, primary health networks, ambulance services, residential aged care facilities and more.
The group’s focus is on improving patient care, optimising operational efficiency, supporting workforce retention, and alleviating pressure on emergency departments during peak demand.
Advancing rural healthcare
Spanning more than 90,000 square kilometres, Queensland’s Darling Downs region is home to over 300,000 residents. Patients often endure lengthy journeys to access essential healthcare, with workforce shortages and rising demand placing additional pressure on emergency and GP services.
CMS is partnering with Darling Downs Health to offer on-demand virtual emergency and GP services, including FACEM consultations. Connecting local healthcare teams to senior clinicians remotely has empowered real-time decision-making—improving patient outcomes, reducing wait times and enhancing local care.
According to Chris, a healthcare leader in Darling Downs, the services have had a profound impact.
“Having a virtual system that is easy for patients and staff to use was an important consideration for us and this is why we opted to partner with CMS. Patients have found it easy to interact with the doctors on the screen via telehealth, and the reduction in wait times has allowed for more efficient patient management,” he said.
Improving workforce retention
CMS’s virtual services are also assisting healthcare organisations with workforce retention in both rural and urban areas, offering much-needed flexibility and reducing clinician fatigue. Local teams gain support through virtual access to senior emergency positions, enabling them to manage workloads more effectively. This collaborative model can reduce staff burnout, boosts job satisfaction, and foster a more positive work environment—critical for rural settings where recruitment and retention are especially challenging.
“CMS has helped us to reduce fatigue in for doctors working in our rural areas. This is because the FACEM on demand telehealth service allows us access to an alternative workforce afterhours.” said Chris.
“It also supports our nursing and other clinical staff to operate at the top of their scope, knowing they have a senior medical clinician available for guidance and support.”
Targeting cost-effective care
Resource limitations compound challenges in rural healthcare, particularly in maintaining adequate numbers of doctors to support 24/7 care in smaller rural facilities.
“CMS telehealth FACEM on demand service augments our local medical workforce to ensure adequate resourcing to support our doctors – both in hours and out of hours.” Chris explains.
CMS’s model alleviates pressure on resources, with hospitals paying only for the services they use. This ensures rural hospitals and metropolitan ED’s can provide high-quality care in the most cost-effective way possible while accessing quality emergency and GP care on demand.
Expanding access to specialist care and mental health services
Patients can often face long wait times to access specialist care leading to many presenting to EDs unnecessarily, placing additional pressure on facilities, staff, and resources. CMS’s new service, launched in May 2024 in partnership with St John of God Berwick Hospital (SJGBH), provides a solution to this problem, enabling patients to access specialist emergency care from home.
The initiative facilitated 37 calls in its first three months, with 38% of patients directly admitted to SJGBH. It has been especially beneficial for patients undergoing chemotherapy or those with mobility challenges.
Jeremy Stork, who used the service for his mother-in-law, Pat, said, “It was a game-changer for us and meant Pat started treatment much sooner.”
It’s a high-impact solution to a persistent challenge, easing pressure on local EDs while providing a smoother pathway to hospital care and timely and appropriate treatment for patients.
New telehealth services in geriatrics and cardiology
With an aging population and the growing prevalence of chronic conditions like heart disease and dementia, access without long wait times is critical. In response, CMS has expanded its services to include telehealth geriatric and cardiology care, addressing the needs of older Australians and patients with complex health conditions—particularly in rural and remote areas.
The expanded services allow aged care facilities, primary care providers, and families to access the specialist care they need without the need to travel, ensuring timely care for chronic and complex conditions. The initiative supports patients and strengthens healthcare providers’ capabilities, streamlining access to specialised care and relieving the burden on local resources.
Key benefits include:
- Short wait times: Appointments typically available within one week.
- Convenient access: Seamless telehealth consultations from anywhere.
- Comprehensive care: From assessment to follow-up, specialists handle the entire process.
Expanding Mental Health Services with PSYCH2U
In addition to its advancements in emergency care and specialist services, CMS is now offers mental health support through PSYCH2U, Australia’s longest-running virtual mental health provider. PSYCH2U offers an integrated approach, providing both psychologists and psychiatrists which is not usual in the virtual mental health space.
In 2023, 86% of consultations were conducted with patients in rural and remote Australia, demonstrating PSYCH2U’s role in addressing mental health care gaps for underserved communities. Patients in these regions, often facing long wait times for in-person appointments, now have easier access to high-quality mental health professionals.
PSYCH2U offers low wait times for mental health services as follows:
- Psychology appointments are available within 2 weeks—providing fast access for individuals needing support.
- Non-ADHD psychiatry appointments are typically available within 4 weeks, ensuring that patients seeking medication management or psychiatric evaluation receive timely care.
Virtual board round model transforming emergency care
At a metropolitan hospital in NSW, CMS’s overnight virtual board round model has significantly enhanced emergency care management capabilities where used. Since its trial in March 2024, the solution has improved patient safety, staff well-being, and ED efficiency, particularly during overnight shifts when senior clinicians are typically unavailable onsite.
Key outcomes include:
- 26-minute reduction in ED Length of Stay (LOS) for patients seen overnight.
- 18-minute improvement in the wait time to see a doctor overnight.
- 3.4% decrease in patients leaving the ED without being seen.
- Enhanced patient flow, with 5.5 fewer patients in the ED at 7:00 am.
- Increased utilisation of the ED Short Stay Unit (EDSSU), with an additional 3.3 patients managed daily.
The implementation of this model led to a reduction in clinical incidents, with no high-severity events reported. Junior medical officers and nursing staff report feeling safer and more supported during overnight shifts, underscoring the model’s effectiveness in fostering a positive work environment and ensuring quality patient care.
Dr Tatiana Lowe, Medical Director of CMS, emphasised the critical value of this model: “Our ‘follow the sun’ approach allows for senior clinical decision-making overnight, reducing the burnout risks for emergency departments while improving patient outcomes and staff support.”
Enhancing custodial health through on-demand specialist care
Patients in custody often face significant healthcare access barriers. In an exciting expansion of its virtual healthcare offering, CMS has partnered with Custodial Health to provide 24/7 specialist urgent care to 23 watchhouses across Victoria.
The new initiative has vast potential to transform custodial healthcare nationally. CMS has integrated the technology into Custodial Health’s services, training 300 of the organisation’s team members in virtual healthcare protocols and establishing efficient operational workflows to ensure high-quality service delivery.
The partnership exemplifies CMS’s commitment to providing timely, high quality care, regardless of location or circumstances.
Future expansion and impact
CMS is determined to improve health outcomes for Australians geographically challenged to gain access to the care they need, when they need it. CMS is leading the development of a more sustainable healthcare system through innovation, collaboration, and flexibility, providing accessible, high-quality care for those who need it.
This content has been produced and sponsored by Connected Medical Solutions.