A national program to expand the reach of clinical trials across Australia will continue over the next four years with an investment of A$75 million ($45 million) from the Future Research Fund. Commonwealth Health Research.
The Australian Telecommunications Program (ATP), first piloted in 2018, leverages telemedicine to create a network of rural, regional and remote clinical trial sites across the country. country. It allows doctors and clinical trial participants to be remote, so they will no longer have to travel far to major cities.
Queensland Health will continue to head the program as the primary jurisdiction with Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory as program partners.
In Queensland, many hospitals and health services (HHS) will participate in the program with Townsville HHS hosting the regional ATP clinical trial coordination center, a specialized unit of senior clinical staff. works collaboratively with key locations and satellites to conduct tests remotely. Townsville has been providing virtual specialist care in rural and remote areas since 2007 and is ideally positioned as a dispatch center for ATP due to its distributed location.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
According to director Kaye Hewson, the latest federal funding will help ATP “significantly expand” the reach of telemedicine trials. To date, the program has conducted more than 90 clinical trials with 58 participants across 37 clinical settings.
The ATP has set a target of 5,000 new participants, 2,400 new clinical trial sites, 90 new GP clinical sites, 208 new trials, and 5,000 employees to facilitate these services.
ON PROFILE
Around seven million people or 28% of Australia’s population live in rural and remote areas. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, these people face special challenges due to their geographical location and often have poorer health outcomes than those living in large cities. They also have higher rates of hospitalization, death and disability and have less access to and use of primary health care services than those living in urban areas.
“The program will ensure equitable access to care for patients in our area, as well as [improve] their health outcomes and quality of life. It can also strengthen collaboration between clinicians and healthcare workers, and develop the capabilities and capacities of the workforce in rural, regional and remote areas.” Colleen Jen, Deputy General Manager of Service Strategy and Clinical Planning, Queensland Health, commented.
