Telehealth model of care for routine follow up of renal transplant recipients in a tertiary centre: A case study

Abstract

Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) performs over 140 kidney transplant operations annually. Kidney transplant recipients require regular medical review, which results in loss of time and costs from travel, particularly for regional patients, and places high demand on the hospital outpatient service. The RMH renal transplant unit initiated a telehealth service in 2016 to provide cost effective, patient-centred clinical care for regional patients. To date, 263 clinical reviews have been conducted via telehealth, potentially saving 203,202 kilometres in travel distance; 2771 hours in car travel time; an estimated AUD $31,048 in petrol savings and 51 tonnes CO2 equivalents of greenhouse gas emis..