Connecting care: How Healthdirect helps up to 26 million people access healthcare with Infermedica
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Navigating complex healthcare systems can be overwhelming, especially when you’re unfamiliar with the services available or unsure of the right care for your needs. To support citizens in getting the right care at the right time, Healthdirect Australia implemented Infermedica’s API into its nurse triage advice line and as a self-service symptom checker to provide clear, accurate healthcare guidance and information.
The collaboration marks a significant step toward creating a more connected, efficient, and user-friendly healthcare experience for up to 26 million Australians. Keep reading to discover how this partnership has increased symptom checker completion rates, reduced pressure on emergency services, and assisted nurses in guiding patients to the care they need.
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Infermedica's collaboration with Healthdirect Australia supports citizens in getting the right care at the right time. Illustration by Magdalena Kościańska.
About Healthdirect
Healthdirect is a government-funded virtual health service in Australia that provides free access to health advice and information via a website, app, and telephone nurse advice helpline to help people manage their health and connect them to the right care at the right time.
The healthdirect Symptom Checker is an online tool that allows people to follow a simple self-guided triage process to check their symptoms and get advice on what to do next. The healthdirect Helpline allows people to call the center 24/7 and receive safe triage advice from registered nurses.
Journey to quality nurse triage
In March 2023, Healthdirect implemented Infermedica’s API into its helpline. The healthdirect Helpline is a 24/7 telephone health advice line staffed by registered nurses who offer advice on health concerns, when to seek medical attention, and where to go for local health services. The service is targeted at consumers who prefer to call and speak to a medical professional over the phone, when they’re unable to access other options or unsure what to do.
We needed a CDSS (Clinical Decision Support System) that could tolerate and analyze multiple symptoms. We also wanted it to reflect real consultation that considered risk factors such as predisposing factors, chronic history, and travel history. We also wanted something that was next generation that could provide a more comprehensive and accurate triage.
Dr Nirvana Luckraj
Chief Medical Officer, Healthdirect Australia.
In this use case, a patient calls up the advice line when they are feeling unwell, are concerned about symptoms they are experiencing, or need advice about whether/where they should seek medical attention.
The patient speaks to a registered nurse who, using Infermedica’s AI-powered symptom checker and triage tool, asks questions about the patient’s symptoms, medical history, risk factors, and/or travel history in order to gain a deeper understanding of the patient’s condition. The tool provides a structured and dynamic interview—whereby the next question will depend on previous inputs.
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A step-by-step outline of Infermedica's AI for nurse triage.
The nurse on the call converses naturally with the patient and then offers safe triage advice based on the engine’s suggestions. It’s important to note that the system offers the nurse the power to override the suggestions put forward by the AI-powered symptom checker, allowing them to upgrade or downgrade triage recommendations based on their own clinical knowledge.
By implementing Infermedica’s combined symptom checker and virtual triage tool into a nurse triage advice line, healthcare organizations can support the appropriate distribution of demand across health systems like Australia’s, helping citizens get the right care at the right time.
Since the implementation of Infermedica’s solutions into the healthdirect Helpline, half of emergency calls are diverted to less acute services. In a one-year span, 44,000 patients were connected to virtual emergency department services, which they otherwise may not have known were available to them.
Next generation AI symptom checker
Following the success of the implementation in the nurse triage advice line, in December 2023 Healthdirect sought to upgrade its Symptom Checker in a similar way. Much the same as the challenge with its Helpline, Healthdirect wanted to improve the ability of its Symptom Checker to take into account multiple symptoms, risk factors, lifestyle considerations, and medical and travel history. There was also a need for more comprehensive triage and the ability to connect citizens with appropriate healthcare services in their area.
Leveraging Infermedica’s cutting-edge Inference Engine, Healthdirect upgraded its digital services with Infermedica’s AI-powered symptom checker to provide a virtual front door to healthcare services throughout Australia. This advanced symptom checker tool met the above criteria with an AI-generated interview and the results speak for themselves.
Since upgrading the Symptom Checker in 2023, Healthdirect has seen a 35% increase in completion rates for symptom checker interviews—completion rates are now at an all-time high of 84%. The number of people going to the Symptom Checker for advice has also increased, this is what Dr Nirvana Luckraj had to say:
Since the launch of the Symptom Checker, we’ve noticed a sustained increase in the total number of users using the Symptom Checker. The total number of users has jumped by more than 30% since December 2023 demonstrating that our users are finding the experience of using the Symptom Checker more user-friendly and a good experience… We’ve also noticed that consumers are now using the symptom checker twice as much as the helpline to get advice and connection to care. This indicates a stronger preference for digital options when they are well-designed and user-friendly.
Dr Nirvana Luckraj
Chief Medical Officer, Healthdirect Australia
Offering citizens healthcare information and guidance at their fingertips has the potential to reduce pressure on emergency departments and urgent care units by ensuring people understand the severity of their symptoms and navigating them to the most appropriate healthcare services.
Scalable symptom checker solutions
The partnership between Healthdirect Australia and Infermedica showcases the transformative potential of AI-powered tools in creating seamless healthcare experiences.
As governments and healthcare organizations worldwide strive to enhance care access and efficiency, Infermedica’s proven technology offers a scalable, adaptable solution to meet these challenges.
Explore how Infermedica can revolutionize care navigation for your region—Book an introductory meeting with one of our experts: Get in touch!
EN/BL/2025/01/21/1
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