International telehealth experts to meet in Brisbane

Successes and failures in telehealth will be on the agenda when world leaders in virtual health care converge on Brisbane for a conference next month.

The University of Queensland’s Centre for Online Health (COH) and the Australasian Telehealth Society (ATHS) will host the 2013 International Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth (SFT-13).

The conference will highlight innovative approaches and new directions in telehealth research, education and service delivery, said the COH deputy director and scientific chair of the conference, Associate Professor Anthony Smith.

“The conference has attracted an impressive line-up of national and international speakers to present on the future direction of telehealth,” Dr Smith said.

“The conference will bring together more than 150 delegates to create a forum where people can share their experiences with clinical telehealth services.

“There will be opportunities to share ideas and strategies related to the implementation and uptake of telehealth.

“The conference will offer a trade exhibition and also host the ATHS Annual General Meeting, which all delegates are welcome to attend.”

Presentations will cover telehealth specialties such as mental health, dermatology, paediatric acute care, indigenous health, geriatrics and palliative care.

SFT-13 will feature two prominent international keynote speakers.

Founder and CEO of Canada’s Ontario Telemedicine Network, Dr Ed Brown, will speak on lessons learned and the future direction for telemedicine.

Dr Shuji Shimizu from Japan’s Kyushu University Hospital will discuss 10 years of remote medical education experience in the Asia-Pacific region.

Other topics to be presented include:

• Teledentistry: Opportunities and Challenges
• A Telehealth Technician’s Role – Managing a Telehealth Network
• Telehealth Service Delivery in a Paediatric Acute Care Setting
• Palliative Care Video Consultations at Home: a Cost Effective Approach to Care
• Emergency Telehealth in Queensland: The Next Steps

The full program and registration forms for the 11-12 November event can be downloaded here.

The conference is being held at the Pullman Brisbane hotel (King George Square).

Contact: Joanne Grey, Communications officer, UQ Centre for Online Health, 07 3176 8188 or j.grey2@uq.edu.au

About UQ's Centre for Online Health

The Centre for Online Health (COH) is a part of the School of Medicine within the Faculty of Health Sciences at The University of Queensland.
With more than 12 years of experience, the COH is recognised internationally for its role in research, service delivery and education and training in the fields of telemedicine, telehealth and e-Healthcare.
The COH researchers, academic researchers, educators, technicians, engineers and coordinators ensure best practice in Australian telehealth.
The centre’s key areas of activity include clinically focussed research; academic and vocational education and training; and the provision of clinical telemedicine services, including one of the world's largest paediatric telemedicine services.