Abstract
Videoconferencing (VC) provides a way to link a specialist physician with a patient in a remote location for the purpose of diagnosing dementia. Older adults with complex memory problems benefit from comprehensive cognitive assessment provided by specialists who often work in major population centers.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) Telehealth Centre (PAH-TC) seeks to provide a whole-of-hospital telehealth service using videoconferencing and store-and-forward capabilities for a range of specialities. Queensland health (Australia) introduced this new centralised telehealth coordination service to improve the scope of telehealth from five medical disciplines, in the year before the establishment, to 34 disciplines two years after the establishment.
Recommendations from community assessment teams, are followed up by a referral from a General Practitioner, to the Memory Clinic at the PAH. Using telehealth, the geriatrician is able to carry out a full cognitive assessment for the diagnosis of dementia or seek additional cognitive testing if required.