24 MARCH, 2025
Who: Charles Darwin University Senior Lecturer Dr Olivia Fisher, who is also an implementation scientist, health services and mental health researcher based at Wesley Research Institute.
Topics:
- New research on how clinicians and health leaders are willing to accept a lower standard of care for people in rural and remote areas than in metropolitan areas because they consider it better than nothing.
- New research on how virtual healthcare and virtual hospitals can improve health outcomes in rural and remote communities.
- Virtual healthcare and virtual hospitals.
- Co-design, implementation, and evaluation of health services.
Contact details: Call +61 8 8946 6721 or email media@cdu.edu.au to arrange an interview.
Quotes attributable to Dr Olivia Fisher:
“Every Australian, regardless of postcode, deserves access to high-quality healthcare yet, our system has historically accepted ‘better than nothing’ as good enough for rural and remote communities.
“This approach is costing lives, with preventable hospitalisations, premature deaths and a life expectancy gap that should outrage every one of us.
"Virtual healthcare, when done right, has the potential to save lives by bridging the gap in access. But we must aim higher than just ‘better than nothing’ - we must deliver an equal standard of care.
“Virtual services can give hope and access to life-saving healthcare for people outside of the major cities, but we need to address this bias so we’re not accidentally reinforcing the inequities people in rural and remote areas already face.
“Your postcode should not determine your health outcomes or your lifespan. Every Australian has the right to live a long, healthy life, no matter where they call home.”
Contact details:
Sierra Haigh she/her
Communications Officer
Marketing, Media & Communications
Larrakia Country
E: sierra.haigh@cdu.edu.au
W: cdu.edu.au
Charles Darwin University acknowledges all First Nations people across the lands on which we live and work, and we pay our respects to Elders both past and present.
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