A specialised virtual emergency department offers a new way of delivering healthcare to Australians living with diabetes at their time of need.
It is a busy hub within Melbourne Medical School that connects leaders and experts in their fields with MD and PhD students who are establishing their clinician-scientist careers.
A groundbreaking new virtual diabetes clinic, the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) Diabetes, provides free video consultations with diabetes nurse practitioners and emergency clinicians.
The brainchild of Professor Elif Ekinci (MBBS(Hons) 2000, PhD 2011, Specialist Cert Clinical Leadership 2021), Director of the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI) and Head of the Department of Medicine at Melbourne Medical School, the service aims to ease pressure on stretched hospital wards and is a lifeline to people in regional and remote areas, for whom access to urgent care is limited.
The service builds on the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department launched in 2020 by VVED Clinical Director, Dr Loren Sher, to reduce avoidable hospital admissions.
“Diabetes is the fastest growing chronic health condition in Australia,” explains Professor Ekinci. “The new virtual ED allows patients access to immediate care and reduces the risk of further deterioration in their health. The idea came to me after one of my patients used the virtual ED for a non-diabetes emergency. That’s when I heard of the idea and immediately contacted Loren, the Director of the VVED. We began a fruitful collaboration, which resulted in the diabetes service.
“The VVED also assists in breaking down the city-to-country divide by offering support to people who would otherwise travel long distances for an in-person medical consult at the time of an emergency. Many people living with diabetes become sick due to complications that, if treated earlier, would prevent their health from deteriorating.”
The VVED also assists in breaking down the city-to-country divide by offering support to people who would otherwise travel long distances for an in-person medical consult at the time of an emergency. Many people living with diabetes become sick due to complications that, if treated earlier, would prevent their health from deteriorating.
About 1.3 million Australians are hospitalised with diabetes-related conditions every year. The most common complications are foot ulcers and amputations, blindness, and heart and kidney disease.
“This service is very important for our First Nations community, who are disproportionally affected by diabetes and its complications,” says Professor Ekinci. “Indigenous patients use telehealth widely and being at home is great because people feel safe. Hospitals have not always been safe places for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
Preliminary findings of the effectiveness of the VVED Diabetes virtual clinic are promising, with patients already being diverted from avoidable hospital admissions.
A second stage will roll out later in 2024 and will see Ambulance Victoria paramedics work with the virtual clinic to test ketone levels for people with diabetes. Blood ketone level testing kits check whether patients have developed diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious complication of diabetes.
Paramedics and VVED Diabetes clinicians will be able to rapidly identify patients who require hospitalisation and those who can be managed at home. Northern Health endocrinologist, Dr Ben Nash, will oversee the clinical aspects of the service.
VVED Diabetes is supported by Ambulance Victoria, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Diabetes Victoria, and Professor Ekinci says it offers a new model of care for people living with chronic conditions like diabetes at their time of need.
“It’s a model that can help anyone who has emergent health issues and who needs to be able to access specialist treatment and advice quickly before they deteriorate,” she says.
To learn more, watch our past event on Transforming Diabetes Care: mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/engage/alumni/events