With so many Australians seeking health information online, Healthdirect Australia recognised the importance of ensuring that the information they are accessing is safe, relevant and trustworthy.
In response they developed the Healthdirect Symptom Checker – an online tool which allows people to check their symptoms and receive personalised advice on what healthcare action to take next.
Background
Healthdirect Australia, an organisation established by the Council of Australian Governments, designs and delivers a range of innovative services to provide every Australian with 24/7 access to the trusted information and advice they need to manage their own health and health-related issues. They needed a robust, safe way of allowing patients to self-triage and self-manage their health – taking pressure off emergency services and offering users a convenient and quick way to access health information and advice.
Anton Donker, Chief Information Officer explains: “An ageing population, the growth of digital by default and patients that are often living in rural or remote locations has made online access a vital part of the way we ensure that all Australians receive good quality health advice and assessment. The Symptom Checker places users at the centre of decision-making by guiding them to the appropriate healthcare option based on their current symptoms, helping them find local health services, and providing links to further information about their symptoms and possible causes.”
Healthdirect Australia chose our proven decision management software to power their Symptom Checker.
The solution
Our decision support technology allows Healthdirect to aggregate its own verified content and present it to consumers on www.healthdirect.gov.au through our Application Programming Interface (API). All health information and guidance in the Healthdirect Symptom Checker has been through a clinically governed quality assurance review.
Used by some of the world’s leading healthcare providers to power more than 100 million patient assessments, our solution has revolutionised access to 24 hour health support and advice here in the UK. It’s now used as far afield as Australia, Ghana and Brazil as a result of our applications integrating with the wide range of systems in use in public and private healthcare across the world.
The result
Our solution has significantly reduced the time taken to populate the Symptom Checker flows with verified clinical content, and changes and updates required are simple to undertake.
Healthdirect Australia needed a robust, safe way of empowering patients to self- triage and manage their health – our trusted decision support software and API came to their aid to streamline management of their online self-assessment tool.
