Health eTowns

• Reach:

  National

• Focus area:

  Mainstream

• Status:

  Current

• Evaluated:

  No

Overview

Health eTowns is a project that aims to deliver improvements in health and education in remote towns in the Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA). The project will service 47 remote towns in the NT, and six East Kimberley towns in WA with a predominantly Indigenous population.

These services include:

• delivering specialist healthcare services to remote communities
• implementing video, audio and data-sharing facilities to assist doctors and health professionals with remote monitoring, consultation and treatment of patients
• delivering interactive online education and training programs that allow students and trainees to access mainstream education programs that are currently only available in larger cities
• introducing a telehealth connection service
• using high-speed broadband to close the healthcare and education gap currently experienced by these communities.

Health eTowns is funded by the Federal Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy under the Digital regions initiative National partnership agreement. The NT Department of Health, in partnership with the NT Department of Education and Training and NT Department of Business and Employment, will administer the project.

The Digital regions initiative is a $60 million initiative which will co-fund innovative digital enablement projects with state, territory and local governments over four years. The initiative takes a collaborative approach to improve the delivery of education, health and/or emergency services in regional, rural and remote Australian communities.

Abstract adapted from Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Contacts

Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Digital regions initiative
Ph: (02) 6271 1719
Ph: 1800 254 649 (General inquiries free call)
Email: digitalregions@dbcde.gov.au

Links

• View information: Health eTowns
• View news item: Major telehealth initiative will improve remote Indigenous access to healthcare
• View website: Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy: Digital regions initiative