Coviu's Telehealth Blog

The Clean Slate Clinic is a Telehealth program that supports Australians to safely undergo alcohol detox from home. Since establishing at the beginning of 2021 over 50 patients have successfully undergone an at-home alcohol detox program completely via telehealth. This new model has proven to be safe, effective, and convenient, making alcohol treatment widely available to all who need it, regardless of their location.

Dr. Richard Harvey is a telehealth evangelist and has been passionate about the potential of virtual care for over 30 years. In 2017 he established Telepsychiatrist.online - a highly successful virtual psychiatry clinic based in rural Victoria. Coviu interviewed Dr. Richard Harvey to learn more about his online practice and the delivery of psychiatry services online. Read on to see what Dr. Richard Harvey had to say.

Recent studies suggest that almost half of all Australians at some stage in their lives will be affected by mental illness. Despite the prevalence of these conditions, particularly anxiety and depression, many harmful stigmas are still believed and reinforced by society and the media. This continuously leads to instances of social withdrawal and failure for those affected to seek help.

There is a significant disparity in access to GPs across the Australian population. In 2014, the Bureau of Health Information reported our major cities utilised about 40% more GP services per capita than those in regional and remote areas, with roughly 36 million GP services being conducted in our cities compared to 2 million in regional and remote Australia. Mental health services are just as hard to access for regional, rural and remote dwellers - specifically, death by suicide is almost twice as likely in rural and remote areas due to lack of support services.

Did you know that people living in rural and remote areas of Australia face more daily challenges and stressors than living in the main cities? These include a greater prevalence of chronic conditions, disability, and generally poorer health. In some areas reporting 8 times the hospitalisation rate for mental health-related issues.

Almost half of all Australians will suffer from mental illness at some stage in their lives, yet many will refuse, or be unable to seek professional help due to social stigmas and a lack of access to services. Remote and regional dwellers are particularly affected, as geographical and social isolation can reduce the number of mental health services available.