Telehealth Tasmania 

Challenges

• The need to increase use of telehealth services due to Covid-19
• The need for video conferencing solutions that could work with existing infrastructure, to be scalable and cost-effective
• The need for secure telehealth services that protect patient privacy

Pexip Solutions

• Development of a customized telehealth solution that uses Pexip's self-hosted, on-premise video solution connect patients and providers, and streamline communications for healthcare personnel using video meeting rooms (VMRs)
• Implementation of Microsoft Teams CVI to connect to video conferencing infrastructure 
  
  

Results

• Interoperability between Microsoft Teams and the healthcare network's exiting video infrastructure, making video meetings easier to join
• Highest levels of security and data privacy
• Allows the telehealth network hold hundreds of concurrent video meetings at a time, and a more seamless way to communicate across healthcare teams

The Telehealth Tasmania staff includes doctors and nurses, as well as supporting hospital administrative and corporate services. Together, this virtual healthcare netwoek provides frontline health services staff with the necessary solutions and tools for reliable communication. In March and April 2020, at the first rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, Telehealth Tasmania — part of the Tasmania Department of Health (DOH) — needed to increase their use of video conferencing to support a range of communications, including greater numbers of clinical assessments between doctors and patients, and communications between ambulances and hospitals.

When assessing new solutions for their video communication needs, one thing that was of paramount importance for Telehealth Tasmania was having the ability to increasing capacity without needing to replace their existing video infrastructure. Whatever solution they chose, it had to work with their legacy systems in an effort to make this solution both scalable and cost-effective.

Faced with a number of complex challenges, Pexip technology partner CommuniCloud worked together with Kim Ford, Clinical Program Manager at Telehealth Tasmania at her team to quickly scale up their video communication services, with the goal of ensuring that high-quality, effective video was available and delivered when needed.

Prior to implementing Pexip solutions, Telehealth Tasmania used in-house products for basics such as bridging and recording. By engaging CommuniCloud and introducing Pexip video conferencing to their workflows, the goal was to extend the lifespan, features, and capacity of Telehealth Tasmania’s existing communication tools. Pexip was chosen for its best-in-class video interoperability, which could bridge different technologies and devices, and features like browser-based video.

The Telehealth team says increasing capacity and “the ability to co-locate with our existing infrastructure" was of paramount importance. Instead of having to oversee an entire overhaul, Pexip's video interoperability offering meant that they could integrate their Teams video meetings with legacy systems, making this solution far more scalable and cost-effective than other options.

Data privacy is paramount for video communications, and both CommuniCloud and Pexip are committed to keeping the customer’s data secure. Choosing Pexip's self-hosted solution means that Telehealth Tasmania remains in control of their own call data, an important step for ensuring data the privacy and security of their highly sensitive healthcare communications. Pexip offers security-first, enterprise-grade video conferencing solutions using industry-standard encryption and security protocols to maintain privacy and security. 

Since implementing a new communications solution with CommuniCloud and Pexip, Telehealth Tasmania has seen impressive benefits in helping them through the Covid-19 pandemic, and as an important part of their modern healthcare offering. This telehealth service now has the capacity to hold up to 250 concurrent calls between patient and consultant at any one time. They also have the capacity to schedule and queue up to 5,000 future consultations at any time.

Working with CommuniCloud, the department is rolling out the Pexip technology into its internal network of around 5,000 employees, making video communications more streamlined across the entire organization. This new approach to video has been embraced by medical staff and is now forming a critical role in many parts of Telehealth Tasmania.

Learn more about Pexip's secure and flexible solutions for healthcare organizations by visiting our Pexip Health homepage.